6  JO  ,f/-^ 


^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *g 


Presented    by   15c\^^   ^.  \^T^ <S VA^T \ O Vc 

BL  181  .M38  1886    ~~ 

McWhinney,  Thomas  M.  1823- 
1909. 

Reason  and  revelation,  hand 


w  1 0 19; 


Reason  ^^.-.r^,  .^^ 

and  Revelation, 


Hand  in  Hand. 


BY  X 


THOMAS   MARTIN   McWHINNEY,   D.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "HEAVENLY  RECOGNITION."  ETC. 


NEW   YORK: 

FORJDS,   HOWARD,   &   HULBERT. 

1 886. 


Copyright,  in  1886, 
By  Thomas  M.  McWhinnev. 


TO 

FRANCIS   A.    PALMER, 

President  of  the  National  Broadway  Bank,  New  York, 
Whose  personal  kindness  has  brought  the  Author  under  many 

AND   lasting  obligations,    AND  WHOSE   CHRISTIAN   BE- 
NEFICENCE  IS   BOUNDED   BY  NO  HUMAN  CREED, 

THIS  WORK  IS 

AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED. 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Prefatory, i 

Religion  a  phantom  or  a  sublime  service;  the  Bible  a 
book  of  sacred  pretensions  or  one  containing  a  Divine 
Revelation;  the  Idea  of  God  a  superstition  or  a  truth; 
Man  an  insoluble  enigma  or  the  creature  of  Infinite  Wis- 
dom; the  Devil  a  specter,  a  monster,  or  a  power  under 
God's  direction;  Christ  an  impostor  or  the  Messiah. 

Introduction 5 

Epitomizing  the  Six  Parts  of  the  Work. 


PART   I. 

RELIGION. 

Prefatory, 17 

Chapter  I.    Natural  Religion,        .        .       .        .18 

Intellectuality,  morality,  love,  and  hate,  native  powers 
of  humanity. — Religiosity  a  constituent  of  the  soul. — Nat- 
ural religion  basis  of  revealed  religion. — Any  religion  bet- 
ter than  none. 

Chapter  II.    No  Religion, 29 

The  faculties  of  the  soul  subject  to  law. — These  laws 
not  equally  important. — Immutability  of  law. — The  pen- 
alties of  each  law  faithfully  enforced. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter  III.    Ethnic  Religion,        ....    50 

Practical  religion  tends  to  the  transformation  of  moral 
character. — Perfect  manhood  the  result  of  worshiping 
an  absolutely  pure  and  holy  being. — Such  absolute  holi- 
ness in  the  deities  worshiped  not  to  be  found  in  any  pa- 
gan religion. — Hence  the  necessity  of  revealed  religion. 

Chapter  IV.    Christian  Religion,    .       .       .        .70 

The  soul  governed  by  fixed  and  unalterable  law. — 
Man's  highest  good  depends  upon  his  knowledge  and 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  his  being. — Christianity  alone 
has  made  known  to  man  these  laws  of  his  moral  and 
spiritual  nature. 


PART   II. 

THE   BIBLE. 
Prefatory, -95 

Chapter  V.    Miscellaneous  and  Introductory,      99 

Importance  of  thorough  investigation. — Difficulties  of 
the  Bible  analogous  to  those  of  nature. — Difficulties  will 
be  lessened  by  properly  classifying  the  composition  of  the 
Bible. — Original  manuscripts. 

Chapter  VI.    The  Bible  a  Book  of  History,       .  117 

Man  left  to  record  facts  without  Divine  help. — Are  the 
records  true  ? — Consistency  of  Hebrew  history. — God's 
hand  evident. — Apparent  antagonisms  between  science 
and  the  Bible  solved  by  more  perfect  knowledge,  inter- 
preted by  common-sense. 

Chapter  VII.     The  Bible  a  Book  of  Biography,    134 

Biblical  biography  represents  both  sides  of  human 
character. — The  God  of  the  Bible  punishes  wickedness 
and  rewards  righteousness. — The  representation  of  the 
good  and  evil  of  men's  lives  will  be  helpful  to  mankind. 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE 

Chapter  VIII.    The  Bible  a  Book  of  Revealed 
Law 155 

Divinity  of  origin,  how  determined. — Laws  of  local  and 
of  general  application. — Completeness  of  Old  Testament 
laws. — These  laws  of  divine  origin. 

Chapter  IX.    The  Bible  as  Related  to  Reason  176 

Faith,  how  established. — Mistaken  judgment. — Mis- 
taken interpretation. — Mistaken  verbal  criticism. — Reason 
not  to  be  subordinated. — Interpretation  the  personal 
right  and  duty  of  all. 


PART   III. 

THEOLOGY. 

Introductory, 208 

Chapter  X.    Agnosticism 214 

It  claims  that  God  is  unknowable. — In  what  sense  true, 
in  what  false. — Origin  and  nature  of  the  Hegelian  school. 
— Contradicted  by  the  experience  of  the  human  mind. 

Chapter  XI.    Pantheism, 226 

Spiritualistic  Pantheism. — Materialistic  Pantheism. — 
German  Pantheism. 

Chapter  XII.    Atheism, 234 

The  Theory  of  Natural  Law. — The  Nebular  Hypothe- 
sis.— Evolution. 

Chapter  XIII.    Theism, 245 

Argument  from  Design. — Objections  under  this  head. 
— Atheistic  Theory  of  Chance. — Theistic  argument  from 
nature. 


via  CONTENTS. 


PART  IV. 

ANTHROPOLOGY. 


PAGE 


Introductory, 264 

Activity  in  physical  research.— Importance  of  the  study 
of  man. — Spiritual  hinderances  of  a  low  view. — Man's  na- 
ture, and  the  shifting  of  his  moral  responsibilities  to  Adam 
or  Satan. — Origin  and  destiny  of  man. 

Chapter  XIV.    Origin  of  Man,         ,       .       .       .269 

Mosaic  account  of  creation  distinct;  scientific  accounts 
at  variance. — If  Evolution  is  God's  method  of  creation,  it 
will  prevail. — But  it  rests  on  Analogy,  which  proves  noth- 
ing.— Reason  demands  proof  of  transformation  of  spe- 
cies.— Degeneration  as  plausible  as  Evolution. — Darwin's 
labors  of  priceless  value,  but  not  conclusive. — Evolution- 
ary theory  not  sustained. — Even  if  granted,  it  fails  to  ac- 
count for  the  mental  and  spiritual  man. 

Chapter  XV.    Man's  Distinctive  Character,       .  288 

Man  the  highest  animal. — The  human  mind  progres- 
sive.— Other  animals  stationary  in  intelligence. — The  dif- 
ference one  of  kind,  not  of  degree.— Man's  native  en- 
dowments.— Intellectuality; — Morality; — Religiosity. 

Chapter  XVI.    The  Soul  a  Divine  Commonwealth  317 

Analogy  between  human  civil  government  and  the  or- 
ganic self-rule  of   the  soul. — The  several    governmental 
departments: — The   Legislative,  —  The  Judiciary, — The  • 
Wimess-bearing, — The    Executive. — Benevolence    and 
righteousness  of  the  Creator. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PART  V. 

DEMONOLOGY. 

PAGE 

Prefatory, 330 

Universality  of  belief. — Practical  importance  of  the 
subject. — Difficult  to  comprehend. — Its  difficulty  must  not 
bar  investigation. 

Chapter  XVII.    What  is  the  Devil.?      .        .        .333 
Something  more  than  a  ghost  of  human  imagination. 

Chapter  XVIII.    Is  the  Devil  a  Personal  Mon- 
ster.?          337 

Titles  of  Satan  as  set  forth  in  "  Foot  prints  of  Satan." 
— Why  is  such  a  devil  permitted  to  live  ? — How  was  Sa- 
tan's fall  made  possible  ? — Why  was  he  permitted  to  re- 
main in  heaven  ? — Why  precipitated  upon  an  unoffending 
humanity? — Whence  the  popular  theory  ? — Why  does  he 
continue  to  exist  ? — Statements  at  variance  with  facts. — 
His  supposed  power  over  the  elements. 

Chapter  XIX.     Is  the  Devil  in  Human  Nature?  369 

Is  he  a  principle  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  man  and 
the  providences  of  God  for  benevolent  purposes? — Divine 
approval  or  disapproval  involves  the  necessity  of  human 
freedom. — Good  and  evil  must  be  placed  before  man. — 
Highest  type  of  manhood  evolved  only  by  contact  with 
evil  environment. — This  the  Biblical  teaching. 


PART   VI. 

CHRISTOLOGY. 
Prefatory, 434 

Was  Jesus  an    Impostor;  a  Fanatic,  or  what  he  pro- 
fessed to  be  ? 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter  XX.     Christ's  Teaching,    .       .       .        .442 

What  ? — Why  ? — How  ? — His  plainness  of  speech;  mor- 
al heroism;  independence;  sympathy. 

Chapter  XXI.    Christ's  Supernatural  Power,    .  467 

Christ's  Miracles  the  basis  of  Christian  faith. — (I)  Defi- 
•  niiion. — (H)  Antecedent  Probability;  God's  benevolence; 
Man's  free  will;  Human  sin;  Divine  interposition;  heaven- 
sent Messenger;  proofs  of  his  mission. — Objections  to 
miracle;  God's  immutability;  insufficiency  of  human  tes- 
timony.— External  and  internal  evidences. 

Chapter  XXII.    The  Character  of  Jesus,     .        .  507 

How  are  we  to  judge  his  character? — He  knew  he 
would  be  put  to  death.  —  He  was  willing  to  die. — He  be- 
lieved what  he  said. — His  personal  merit  compared  with 
that  of  other  men. — Faults  of  his  professed  followers  not 
evidence  against  his  character. 

Chapter  XXIII.    Christ's  Atonement,    .        .        .  539 

Natural  diversity  and  Christian  harmony  of  opinion. — 
(I)  Points  of  agreement:  No  doctrine  of  atonement  in  the 
primitive  church;  first  attempts  to  formulate  it  led  to 
absurdities  ;  all  attempts  have  left  it  difficult  and  doubt- 
ful ;  sin  alienates  from  God  ;  divine  help  necessary,  and 
given  in  Christ's  life  and  death. — (II)  Points  of  disagree- 
ment: As  to  the  method  by  which  Christ's  atonement 
works  ;  as  to  its  object,  whether  to  reconcile  God,  or 
man. — Former  contradicts  God's  known  attributes  of  love 
and  immutability. — Latter  agrees  with  conceded  facts  of 
man's  sinful  alienation,  and  need  of  repentance  stimu- 
lated by  enlightenment  through  Christ's  precept  and  ex- 
ample, and  renewed  love  won  by  Christ's  suffering. 

Chapter  XXIV.    Christ's  Resurrection,       .        .  566 

Antecedent  probabilities  of  God's  completing  a  glorious 
design. — The  Resurrection  the  foundation  of  Christi- 
anity.— I.     Facts   admitted  :    Christ's   death,  burial,  and 


CONTENTS.  XI 


FAGS 


removal  from  the  tomb.— II.  Points  in  question :  Was 
the  body  removed  by  human  instrumentality  ?  Christ's 
enemies  would  not,  his  friends  could  not,  have  done  it; 
"Was  the  body  removed  by  Divine  power  ?— Circumstantial 
evidence:  His  own  predictions,  and  subsequent  history  of 
Christianity.— Positive  evidence:  The  tesiimony  of  his 
disciples,  who  were  honest,  were  familiar  with  his  face 
and  person,  met  him  later  in  Galilee,  saw  him  ascend  into 
heaven,  and  sacrificed  their  lives  to  testify  to  these  things. 
— Christ's  own  declaration. 

Index, 5^9 


REASON  AND  REVELATION. 


PREFATORY. 


(i)  Religion  is  a  phantom  of  inconceivable  out- 
rage, which,  like  a  ghost  of  horrid  form,  has  led 
mankind  captive  into  a  slavery  of  unrequiting,  fruit- 
less toil  and  costly  sacrifice  ;  or  else  it  is  a  service,  the 
glory,  sublimity,  and  full  fruition  of  which  will  be 
but  poorly  comprehended  until  our  earthly  pilgrim- 
age is  ended  and  the  soul  is  at  rest  in  the  land  where 
angels  dwell. 

(2)  The  Bible  is  but  a  record  of  hypocritical  and 
sacrilegious  pretensions,  such  as  would  eclipse  the 
Koran,  the  Vedas,  the  Zend-a-vesta,  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  or  any  other  book  of  sacred  pretensions, 
which  has  ever  hoodwinked  mankind  into  a  stupid 
mockery,  senseless  reverence,  and  idiotic  devotion ; 
or  else  it  is  a  book  containing  a  Divine  Revelation, 
which  has  inspired  the  world  with  the  infinite 
thought  of  God  and  the  idea  of  human  duty  and 
destiny — and  has  thus  done  more  to  elevate  and  civi- 
lize our  race  and  render  it  happy  than  all  other  in- 
strumentalities combined. 


2  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

(3)  The  idea  of  God  is  a  nightmare  of  fabulous 
superstition,  world-wide  and  coeval  with  the  race  of 
man  ;  or  else  it  is  a  truth,  the  height  of  which  has 
never  been  reached,  the  depth  of  which  has  never 
been  fathomed,  the  comprehensiveness  of  which  has 

mever  been  grasped,  and   the  superlative    glory  of 
which  will  forever  baffle  thought  and  imagery. 

(4)  Man,  as  to  his  origin,  distinctive  characteris- 
tics, unique  organism  of  soul,  duty,  and  destiny,  is 
the  enigma  of  all  enigmas  in  natural  history,  and  the 
riddle  of  all  riddles  in  metaphysical  theorizing;  or 
else  he  is  the  creature  of  an  infinitely  wise  Creator, 
for  whom  the  earth,  with  all  its  rich  material  re- 
sources, and  the  world  of  domestic  animals,  were 
made,  and  whose  mission  on  earth  is  to  bring  him- 
self into  harmony  with  God's  law  of  love  and  right- 
eousness, and  thus  be  fitted  for  the  society  of  the 
intelligent  of  all  worlds  who  have  wrought  well  the 
task  which  heaven  assigned. 

(5)  The  devil,  as  some  suppose,  is  nothing  but  a 
ghost  of  human  imagination,  whose  spectral  image 
has  frightened  the  race  into  intolerable  forebodings 
and  apprehensions ;  or,  as  others  conceive,  he  is  a 
huge  and  horrid  monster,  who,  in  defiance  of  God, 
has  depopulated  heaven,  crushed  the  hopes  of  hu- 
manity, and  even  threatens  to  usurp  the  throne  of 
the  universe  ;  or, — as  suggested  by  analogy,  revealed 
in  the  Bible,  and  proven  by  philosophy, — he  is  a  be- 
ing (if  a  being  at  all),  or  a  power  in  the  moral  uni- 
verse (as  he  certainly  is),  under  the  control  and  do- 


PREFATORY.  3 

minion  of  the  Infinite  Father,  and  used  by  him  as 
an  instrumentality  of  good  in  carrying  out  his  be- 
nevolent purpose  in  the  creation,  development,  and 
final  fate  of  man. 

(6)  Christ,  in  his  teaching,  wonder-working  life, 
death,  and  resurrection,  was  an  impostor  who  has 
"turned  the  world  upside  down"  by  a  lingo  of  false- 
hoods and  hypocritical  pretensions  for  which  he 
knowingly  and  willingly  died, — thus  presenting  to 
the  world  a  miracle  more  marvelous  than  any  that 
are  recorded  in  the  Bible ;  or  else  he  was  the  ''  Mes- 
siah," commissioned  to  speak  as  never  man  spoke, 
to  do  that  which  ''  no  man  can  do  except  God  be 
with  him,"  to  unify  all  people,  and  inspire  the  world 
with  a  new  hope  by  bringing  ''  Hfe  and  immortality 
to  light,  through  the  Gospel." 

The  foregoing  propositions  present  no  middle 
ground.  Reason  has  not  even  a  seeming  place  to 
rest  its  foot  except  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  ex- 
tremes. While  the  Bible-trumpet  gives  no  uncer- 
tain sound  on  any  of  these  deep  problems,  atheism 
and  infidelity  are  equally  pronounced.  It  is  of  in- 
finite moment,  therefore,  that  we  carefully  trace  the 
analogy  between  Reason  and  Revelation,  that  we 
may  thus  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  truth. 

The  following  pages  will  need  no  apology,  if  only 
they  are  found  to  contribute  somewhat  to  the  happy 
end  of  distinguishing  between  the  false  and  the 
true. 


INTRODUCTION. 


On  the  great  themes  of  Religion,  Bible,  Theol- 
OGY,  Anthropology,  Demonology,  and  Chris- 
TOLOGY,  the  world  of  thoughtful  men  has  been  and 
is  now  greatly  in  dispute  as  to  what  is  truth. 
While  we  have  designed,  in  the  following  pages,  to 
present  the  position  which  reflective  minds  have 
sought  to  maintain  on  these  deep  problems  in  the 
different  ages  and  countries  of  the  world,  it  has 
been  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  do  more  than  to 
excite  the  reader  to  honest  investigation.  The 
spirit  of  theological  dogmatism  and  proscription  is 
alike  to  be  condemned  by  every  one  who  is  more 
desirous  of  finding  the  truth  than  in  being  found  in 
the  line  of  popular  thought.  In  this  age  of  unparal- 
leled mental  activity  and  intelligence,  what  devoted 
churchmen  need,  more  than  anything  else,  is  the 
courage  of  their  own  honest  convictions.  Only  let  the 
grace  of  Christian  liberty,  in  its  fullness,  become  the 
personal  heritage  of  each  individual  thinker,  and 
superstition  will  be  relegated  to  the  dark  ages,  and 
the  reign  of  truth  and  righteousness  will  soon  be 
inaugurated  as  the  harbinger  of  "  on  earth  peace, 
good-will  toward  men." 


6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Next  to  the  "  unpardonable  sin  "  is  the  disposition 
which  would  interdict  the  soul  in  its  personal  right  to 
follow  the  line  of  thought  which  to  it  seems  to  lead 
good-ward  and  God- ward.  Nothing  has  so  disgraced 
the  Church,  dishonored  God,  and  crushed  the  hopes 
^of  aspiring  humanity,  as  the  spirit  of  theological  dog- 
matism and  ecclesiastical  proscription.  If,  therefore, 
we  have  contributed  in  some  degree  to  the  spirit  of 
untrammeled,  honest,  and  earnest  investigation,  we 
shall  be  pleased  to  offer  it  as  an  apology  for  writing 
a  new  book. 

RELIGION. 

Religion  has  been  placed  first  on  the  programme 
of  discussion,  because  it  is  fundamental  to  those 
themes  which  succeed  it.  If,  in  the  light  of  reason, 
it  could  be  shown  that  religion  is  no  part  of  the 
soul's  nature,  but  that  man  was  made  to  live  like  a 
beast  and  die  like  a  beast,  then  the  subjects  of 
Bible,  Theology,  Anthropology,  Demonology,  and 
Christology  would  be  themes  of  no  special  concern. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sublime  truth  can  be 
made  to  appear,  that  man,  because  of  his  native 
religiosity,  has  been  divinely  purposed  as  the  con- 
necting link  between  God  and  the  rest  of  his  sub- 
lunary universe,  then  their  significance  is  incompara- 
ble, and  their  glory  superlative. 

That  the  intelligent  student  of  mental  philosophy 
and  religious  history  might  be  led  to  regard  the 
Christian  religion  as  but  the  fulfillment  of  the  soul's 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

native  predilections,  and  as  being  attractive  and 
beautiful  beyond  comparison,  we  have  aimed  to  rep- 
resent all  the  prominent  positions  which  thought- 
ful men  have  sought  to  defend  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  Under  the  conviction  that  a  reference  to 
mental  science  and  to  comparative  religion  would 
exhibit  Christianity  in  an  unparalleled  beauty,  we 
have  sought  to  show — 

First,  that  the  Creator  designed  man  for  religion ; 

Secondly,  that  the  lowest  form  of  religion  known 
to  our  race  has  shown  itself  to  be  better  than  no 
religion  ; 

Thirdly,  that  while  heathen  mythologies  help  to 
establish  the  fact  of  man's  native  disposition  to 
worship,  their  incompetency  to  meet  the  higher  ne- 
cessities of  the  soul's  nature  makes  them  prophetic 
of  something  better;  and, 

Fourthly,  that,  in  the  light  of  reason,  the  instinc- 
tive necessities  of  man's  being,  together  with  all  the 
multiplied  forms  of  religion,  are  but  so  many  united 
predictions  which  have  found  their  fulfillment  in 
Christianity, — the  religion  of  progress  and  of  uni- 
versal unity. 

THE  BIBLE. 

The  Bible,  like  all  other  books,  should  be  tried  at 
the  bar  of  reason.  Its  sublimity  and  superiority 
can  only  be  comprehended  and  fully  appreciated 
when  it  has  passed  the  ordeal  of  the  higher  criticism. 
If  it  be  not  adjudged  and  approved  at  the  court  of 


8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

human  reason,  both  as  to  its  origin  and  its  interpreta- 
tion, then  it  shall  worse  than  fail  of  its  divine  mis- 
sion. Truth,  whether  religious  or  scientific,  must 
be  earnestly  sought  after  and  tenaciously  clung  to, 
else  its  twofold  mission  of  developing  the  mind  and 
^serving  as  an  instrumentality  of  good  will  utterly 
'fail. 

Nor  will  the  divine  purpose  concerning  the  Bible 
be  accomplished,  except  as  the  individual  man  is 
left  free  and  is  found  willing  honestly  and  earnestly 
to  seek  after  the  truth  of  revelation.  While  the 
natural  sciences  have  to  do  only  with  the  hidden 
wisdom  and  power  of  the  Almighty  addressing  them- 
selves to  man's  intellectuality,  the  Bible  comes  to  us 
with  the  problem  of  God's  fatherly  character,  man's 
duty  and  destiny,  seeking  to  speak  through  human 
reason  to  man's  moral  and  spiritual  being.  The 
difficulties,  too,  which  attend  the  discovery  of  the 
facts  of  God  in  nature  are  quite  analogous  to  those 
which  meet  us  in  our  search  after  the  truths  of  the 
Bible.  While  both  Nature  and  Revelation  stand 
before  us  with  heights  of  thought  we  cannot  reach, 
depths  we  cannot  fathom,  and  subjects  too  compre- 
hensive for  our  grasp,  yet  both  alike  meet  our  present 
necessities  with  plain  practical  truth,  and  thus  beckon 
us  on  to  the  unknown  heights. 

These  difficulties  of  Bible  interpretation,  however, 
will  be  greatly  simplified  if  we  will  allow  reason  to 
play  its  rightful  part  in  discriminating  between  the 
human  and  the  divine  utterance.     If  in  reading  the 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

Bible  as  a  book  of  history,  of  law,  of  biography,  and 
oi poetry,  we  apply  the  same  common-sense  rules  of 
interpretation  as  are  applied  to  other  books,  we  shall 
readily  see  that  much  of  it  comes  within  the  scope 
of  human  wisdom  ;  and  if  nothing  more  be  claimed, 
then  the  Bible,  as  a  book  of  Divine  Law  and  Revela- 
tion which  transcends  the  limits  of  worldly  wisdom, 
will  appear  all  the  more  sublime  in  the  comparison. 
That  God  has  directly  interposed  in  man's  behalf  to 
reveal  spiritual  triith  in  the  Bible,  sufficient  to  ele- 
vate and  save  our  race,  is  a  proposition  which  honest 
intelligence  will  not  gainsay.  This  much,  and  no 
more,  the  sacred  volume  claims  for  itself.  Any 
effort,  therefore,  at  defending  the  Bible  as  a  book 
of  science,  or  as  of  verbuin  verbo  inspiration,  is  as 
gratuitous  as  it  will  be  fruitless.  In  reading  the 
sacred  page,  reason  has  been  divinely  commissioned 
to  discriminate  and  eliminate,  until  the  voice  of  the 
great  Father  is  unmistakably  heard.  Any  effort, 
therefore,  at  subordinating  human  reason,  or  in  any 
wise  interdicting  the  individual  soul  in  its  honest 
investigation  of  the  Bible  truth,  "  cometh  of  evil." 

THEOLOGY. 

If  the  reader  of  this  third  part  shall  in  any  way  be 
helped  to  an  implicit  faith  in  the  personal  existence 
of  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  who  is  the  center  of 
all  science,  the  foundation  of  all  true  religion,  and 
the  Father  of  all  intelligences,  then  the   work   of 


10  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

writing  these  chapters  will  be  well  and  faithfully 
vindicated.  While  the  Bible  gives  no  uncertain 
sound  touching  this  grandest  of  all  themes,  specu- 
lative theology  has  developed  more  than  a  trinity 
of  conceptions.  We  have  aimed,  however,  to  classify 
these  diversified  thoughts,  under  the  titles  Agnos- 
ticism, Pantheism  (Spiritualistic  and  Materialistic), 
Atheism,  and  Theism.  In  the  comparison  of  these 
various  theories  we  have  sought  to  show  that  reason 
in  its  going  forth  can  find  no  place  to  rest  its  feet 
until  it  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the  ''  I  Am  that 
I  Am!'  We  have  aimed  to  show  that  the  Nebular 
Hypothesis,  the  Darwinian  theory,  and  even  Dog- 
matic Atheism,  in  their  arguments,  together  with 
every  conceivable  method  of  reasoning,  must  inevi- 
tably lead  to  the  sublime  thought  of  an  Infinite  Con- 
triver, who  is  the  Creator  and  Controller  of  all  the 
universe  of  animate  and  inanimate  things. 

ANTHROPOLOGY. 

The  questions.  Whence  are  we  ?  What  are  we  ? 
and  Whither  do  we  tend?  in  virtue  of  their  nature, 
are  of  more  practical  importance  to  man  than  the 
combination  of  all  other  problems  which  come  within 
the  purview  of  human  reason.  While  the  fact  of 
heavenly  Paternity  is  of  first  importance,  and  one 
in  which  intelligence  is  agreed,  the  wisest  and  the 
best  men  of  the  world  are  earnestly  devoting  their 
attention  to  the  problems  of  the  divine  methods  of 


INTRODUCTION.  II 

man's  creation.  As  the  Mosaic  account  is  unmistak- 
able, and  as  scientists  are  disagreed  as  to  the  methods 
of  man's  origin,  we  have  sought  by  comparison  of 
views  to  show  which  is  the  more  reasonable.  If  in 
the  light  of  physical  facts  it  would  seem  that  our 
world  has  been  constructed  with  the  benevolent  de- 
sign of  making  it  a  home  for  man ;  and  if  mental 
philosophy  has  discovered  to  us  the  native  powers 
of  intellectuality,  morality ^  and  religiosity, — powers 
not  even  a  trace  of  which,  as  we  shall  seek  to  show, 
can  be  found  with  the  lower  order  of  animals  ;  and 
if  the  human  soul  may  be  considered  a  divinely  or- 
ganized commonwealth,  in  which  man  is  notified  as 
to  the  proper  or  improper  thing  to  be  done  ;  in 
which  a  faithful  record  is  kept  of  passing  events  ; 
in  which  he  is  adjudged  as  to  his  innocence  or  guilt, 
and  in  which  he  is  approved  for  well-doing  and  pun- 
ished for  wicked-doing,  thus  indicating  the  divine 
purpose  of  protecting  the  soul  from  the  ravages  of 
sin  and  hence  pointing  to  its  immortality : — if  these 
several  suggestions  are  made  to  appear,  then  it  would 
seem  that  man's  spiritual  and  real  kinship  is  not 
with  terrestrial  beings,  but  with  beings  celestial. 

DEMONOLOGY. 

In  our  chapters  on  demonology  we  have  presented 
the  two  extremes,  finding  the  truth,  as  it  seems  to 
us,  midway  between  them.  The  position  which  in- 
fidelity seeks  to  popularize  is,  that  the  devil  is  noth- 


12  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

ing  but  a  ghost  of  human  imagination ;  while  the 
popular  theory  assumes  that  he  is  a  horrid  mon- 
ster, next  in  wisdom  and  power  to  the  Almighty. 
While  the  former  view  fails  to  account  for  a  univer- 
sal superstition  and  flatly  contradicts  the  bitter  ex- 
perience of  mankind,  the  latter,  as  we  have  aimed  to 
show,  will  not  endure  the  light  of  sound  criticism. 
The  first  may  be  characterized  as  superstitious  and 
without  even  the  show  of  evidence  ;  the  second  ^ 
may  be  said  to  have  been  popularized  by  mere  as- 
sumption, without  an  attempt  at  argument. 

While  those  who  claim  that  the  devil  is  Nothing 
would  seem  to  offer  their  skepticism  as  an  apology 
for  a  wicked  life,  those  who  assume  that  he  is  next 
to  Everything  appear  willing  to  allow  the  supersti- 
tion to  be  stereotyped,  with  the  benevolent  view  of 
frightening  silly  women  and  sillier  men  from  the  path 
of  wrong-doing.  But  these  good  men  seem  to  over- 
look two  important  factors  in  solving  the  deep 
problem  of  right-doing.  First,  the  only  acceptable 
service,  in  the  eyes  of  the  great  Father,  is  the  life 
which  flows  from  a  heart  of  love  for  the  right  and 
hate  for  the  wrong: — for  this  reason,  though  the 
Divine  Teacher  proclaimed,  by  heavenly  speech  and 
purity  of  life,  the  fatherly  character  of  God,  yet  in 
his  crreatest  recorded  sermon  he  did  not  so  much  as 
allude  to  this  monster  of  popular  faith.  Secondly, 
God  would  not  have  his  Church  built  upon  a  founda- 
tion so  precarious  that  it  will  not  endure  the  light 
of  sense  and  reason.     The  cause  of  God  and  human- 


INTRODUCTION.  I3 

ity  is  best  served  by  those  who  are  most  successful 
in  eliminating  falsehood  and  establishing  truth.  All 
error  comes  of  evil  and  engenders  wrong,  while  all 
truth  is  of  God  and  tends  good-ward  and  heaven- 
ward. When  Christianity  has  done  its  perfect  work, 
all  forms  of  falsehood  will  be  banished  from  the 
earth,  and  universal  truth  will  stand  firm  as  the 
Rock  of  Ages. 

Under  this  conviction,  we  have  aimed  to  excite 
the  spirit  of  honest  investigation  touching  the  popu- 
lar theory  of  Demonology,  which,  it  seems  to  us,  has 
too  long  robbed  the  great  Father  of  the  glory  of  his 
moral  universe.  '*  Let  God  be  true,  but  every  man 
a  liar." 

The  middle  ground  which  we  have  sought  to 
maintain  is  that  Evil,  which  is  omnipresent  and 
which  has  been  personified  as  "  Devil,"  is  d.  principle 
incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the  soul  and  in  the  provi- 
dences of  God,  with  a  benevolent  design  to  the  good  of 
man.  This  principle,  with  its  twofold  purpose,  was 
with  Adam  and  Eve,  and  has  remained  with  their 
posterity. 

Demonology,  as  thus  represented,  explains  the 
cause  of  the  sin  of  our  first  parents,  accounts  for  the 
universal  superstition  touching  this  subject,  meets 
the  experience  of  mankind,  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  science,  sense,  and  reason,  is  found  to  be  in 
keeping  with  Biblical  criticism  and  with  all  the  ad- 
missible rules  of  exegesis,  and  above  all  it  reflects 
the  wisdom,  goodness,  and  glory  of  God,  as  revealed 


14  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

in  his  moral  universe.  If  in  the  following  pages 
these  conclusions  are  made  to  appear,  this  innova- 
tion upon  the  popular  theory  will  be  justified  by 
those  who  are  not  joined  to  their  idols.  We  only 
ask  for  these  chapters  a  careful  reading  and  an  hon- 
orable criticism,  and  we  shall  gladly  and  hopefully 
submit  to  the  result. 

CHRISTOLOGY. 

Recognizing  revelation  as  progressive,  we  have 
placed  Christology  at  the  close  of  our  programme, 
for  the  reason  that  we  regard  Christ  as  the  fulfill- 
ment of  all  prophecy,  and  the  completion  and  end 
of  all  revelation.  Believing  that  too  much  impor- 
tance has  been  attached  to  Moses  and  the  Old 
Testament  Jewish  history,  and  altogether  too  little 
significance  given  to  Christ  and  his  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  we  have  aimed  to  detract  from  the  one  with 
the  view  of  magnifying  the  other.  Jewish  history 
has  but  little  to  do  in  the  work  of  saving  our  race 
except  where  the  hand  of  God  may  be  seen,  and 
even  the  ''  Law  was  [only]  our  schoolmaster  to 
bring  us  unto  Christ."  But  the  divine  order  has 
been  reversed,  and  destructive  criticism  invited,  by 
pointing  the  world  to  the  Old  Testament  instead  of 
inviting  the  living  multitude  to  ''behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
Only  let  Christ  be  exalted,  infinitely  above  all  and 
in  view  of  all,  as  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  and 


INTRODUCTION.  1 5 

men  of  sense  and  reason  will  not  longer  stumble 
and  fall  at  the  credulity  of  intelligent  men. 

While  but  few  men  have  had  the  temerity  to  deny 
the  divine  authority  of  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, fewer  still  fully  appreciate  the  majesty  of  his 
person  and  the  sublimity  of  his  mission.  "  No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only-begotten  Son, 
who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared 
him."  The  Infinite  Spirit  no  man  hath  seen  or  can 
see ;  yet  the  great  Father  hath  revealed,  in  the  per- 
son of  Jesus,  so  much  of  his  infinite  self,  touching 
his  nature,  character,  and  will,  as  our  finite  minds 
can  comprehend. 

This  divine  manifestation  may  be  clearly  observed 
in  the  nature,  necessity,  manner,  and  the  sublime 
results  of  the  truths  he  uttered,  in  the  superhuman 
wisdom  and  miraculous  power  which  he  displayed, 
in  the  purity  of  his  life  and  in  the  spirit  of  gentleness 
and  loving  good-will  which  he  ever  revealed;  in  his 
having  voluntarily  '*  suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  he  might  bring  us  to  God  ;"  in  his  triumphant 
resurrection  from  the  dead  and  glorious  ascension 
into  heaven,  where  he  has  gone  to  prepare  a  place 
in  the  house  of  many  mansions  for  all  in  the  differ- 
ent countries  and  ages  of  the  world  who  shall  be 
counted  worthy  of  the  '*  Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant."  He  is  the  God  to  us,  and  the  only 
God  we  shall  ever  be  able  to  comprehend. 

"  Let  him  that  readeth  understand." 

These   introductory   pages    will    indicate   to   the 


l6  REASON  AND  REVELATION. 

reader  the  line  of  argument  pursued  and  the  conclu- 
sions reached.  If  any  are  disposed  to  condemn 
these  conclusions  at  the  outset,  we  ask  a  stay  of 
judgment  until  the  body  of  the  text  has  passed  the 
ordeal  of  careful  criticism. 


PART    I. 
RELIGION. 

(i)  Natural  Religion.— (2)  No   Religion.— (3)  Ethnic  Re- 
ligion.— (4)  Christian  Religion. 


PREFATORY. 


(i)  Religion  is  a  part  of  the  nature  of  the  human 
soul. — Man's  native  disposition  to  worship  some  be- 
ing outside  of  and  supposed  to  be  above  himself  is 
shown  in  the  universal  history  of  mankind  to  be  as 
clearly  marked  as  is  the  disposition  of  the  beaver  to 
construct  his  dam  or  of  the  eagle  to  soar  aloft.  The 
**Ten  Great  Religions  of  the  World"  discussed  in 
the  celebrated  work  of  James  Freeman  Clarke,  to- 
gether with  all  the  other  multiplied  forms  of  devo- 
tion which  make  religion  in  every  way  coextensive 
with  our  race,  can  be  accounted  for  only  upon  the 
supposition  of  man's  native  disposition  to  worship. 

(2)  As  religion  is  a  part  of  the  soul's  nature,  the 
individual  or  nation  ignoring  this  native  faculty,  or 
refusing  to  observe  the  laws  of  its  life  and  develop- 
ment, does  a  wrong  ivJiich  nothing  can  right. 

(3)  The  universality  of  religion  not  only  proves 
that  a  disposition  to  pray  was  incorporated  in  the 
nature  of  the  soul,  but  it  raises  a  strong  presump- 
tion in  favor  of   the  conviction  that  He  who  im- 


1 8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

planted  this  instinctive  disposition  to  worship 
would,  if  need  be,  reveal  a  system  of  religion  such  as 
would  meet  the  native  necessities  of  the  soul,  and  thus 
enable  man  to  answer  the  design  of  his  creation. 
That  such  a  necessity  existed  will  be  clearly  seen  in 
the  history  of  comparative  religion. 

(4)  The  fact  that  each  of  these  great  religions 
has  books  which  are  held  as  divinely  sacred,  so  far 
from  reflecting  discredit  upon  all  pretensions  to  a 
"book  revelation,"  is  an  argument,  a  priori,  in  favor 
of  the  fact  that  somewhere  in  this  great  multiplicity 
of  books  there  is  a  Book  the  divine  origin  of 
which  may  be  clearly  traced.  Counterfeits  there  may 
be,  without  number;  but  their  existence  not  only 
points  to  a  genuine  book,  but  they  make  this  book 
of  truthful  revelation  all  the  more  valued,  provided 
it  can  be  found.  The  foregoing  propositions  will  be 
illustrated  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER    I. 
NATURAL  RELIGION. 

Intellectuality,  morality,  love  and  hate,  native  powers  of  human- 
ity.—Religiosity  a  constituent  of  the  soul.— Natural  religion  the 
basis  of  revealed  religion. — Any  religion  better  than  none. 

Nothing  but  the  study  of  manifest  phenomena, 
in  connection  with  the  human  mind,  has  fixed  the 
facts  of  mental  philosophy.     We  are   not  at  liberty 


NATURAL  RELIGION.  19 

to  say  that  it  is  in  the  nature  of  the  mind  to  seek 
after  and  attain  science,  except  for  the  manifest 
reason  that  such  has  been  its  universal  tendency 
and  its  constant  achievement.  Solely  because  of 
these  obvious  phenomena  has  it  been  determined 
that  intellectuality  inheres  in  the  human  mind. 
Nor  can  defeats  and  miscarriages  in  intellectual  pur- 
suits be  urged  as  an  argument  against  this  conclusion  ; 
but  rather  they  illustrate  the  necessity  of  greater 
diligence  in  finding  out  the  ways  of  the  Almighty. 
This  is  our  first  privilege  and  highest  duty. 

Again,  that  morality  is  instinctive  in  man,  has 
been  determined  from  the  simple  fact  that  in  all 
ages  and  in  all  countries  he  has  sat  in  judgment  on 
questions  of  right  and  wrong,  and  has  given  moral 
character  to  words  and  deeds.  That  these  mental 
decisions  are  often  far  from  being  just,  does  not  in  the 
least  alter  the  conclusion  that  there  is  a  native  power 
and  disposition  to  give  character  and  pass  judgment 
upon  the  words  we  utter  and  the  life  we  live  ;  it  only 
illustrates  the  necessity  of  moral  enlightenment. 

Once  again,  the  phenomenon  of  remorse  has  es- 
tablished the  proposition  that  the  mind  is  possessed 
of  a  conscience^  a  power  divinely  appointed  to  im- 
part pleasure  for  right-doing,  and  to  flourish  the 
scourge  when  we  violate  our  sense  of  right.  And 
though  this  power  sometimes  approves  that  which  is 
in  fact  wrong,  and  flourishes  the  scourge  when  we 
have  done  that  which  is  intrinsically  right,  this  does 
not  reflect  upon  the  divine  purpose  of  its  appoint- 


20  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ment ;  much  less  does  it  weigh  against  the  belief  that 
this  power  to  approve  and  scourge  was  incorporated 
in  the  nature  of  the  human  mind.  This  again  only 
suggests  the  importance  of  an  enlightened  moral 
judgment. 

Moreover,  the  history  of  our  race,  as  well  as  the 
experience  of  every  individual,  clearly  demonstrates 
that  the  human  soul  was  made  to  love  and  hate. 
And  though  men  have  often  learned  to  love  that 
which  deserves  nothing  but  detestation,  and  to  de- 
spise that  which  is  worthy  of  the  highest  affection, 
this  does  not  in  the  least  militate  against  the  con- 
clusion that  the  power  to  love  and  hate  forms  a  con- 
stituent part  of  the  soul's  organism,  nor  against  the 
wisdom  of  such  an  appointment.  These  perversions, 
hov/ever  gross,  so  far  from  disproving  the  existence 
of  these  native  faculties  of  the  soul,  only  go  to  fur- 
ther establish  their  existence  and  to  urge  the  neces- 
sity of  their  proper  training. 

As  the  manifest  phenomena  of  the  race  have  de- 
termined the  fact  that  intellectuality,  morality,  love, 
and  hate  are  powers  incorporated  in  the  nature  of 
the  soul,  so  likewise  has  the  fact  been  fully  demon- 
strated that  Religiosity  is  not  only  an  element  of 
man's  nature,  but  it  is  interwoven  with  the  very 
texture  of  his  entire  being,  and  forms  a  most  con- 
stituent and  important  part  of  the  soul's  nature.  If 
the  intellectual  faculty  of  the  mind  has  been  dis- 
covered in  the  fact  of  its  universal  tendency  to  seek 
after  science,  so  the  universality  of  man's  seeking 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  21 

after  God  has  settled  the  question  that  man  was 
made  for  religion.  As  to  the  universality  of  such 
"  feeling  after  God,"  none  will  doubt  who  are  at  all 
acquainted  with  the  phenomena  of  our  race.  There 
is  not  a  nation,  nor  a  part  of  a  nation,  whose  history- 
is  known,  that  has  not  had  some  form  of  religion. 
Certain  tribes  in  the  islands  of  the  sea  have,  in  a 
few  instances,  been  reported  as  having  no  religion. 
But  when  their  customs  were  better  known,  they 
have,  in  almost  every  instance,  been  found  to  have 
a  religion  to  which  they  clung  with  the  greatest 
tenacity. 

After  a  most  exhaustive  review  of  all  the  promi- 
nent religions  of  the  world,  Dr.  Clarke  says :  "  This 
survey  must  have  impressed  on  every  mind  the  fact 
that  man  is  eminently  a  religious  being.  We  have 
found  religion  to  be  his  supreme  and  engrossing 
interest  on  every  continent,  in  every  millennium  of 
historic  time,  in  every  stage  of  human  civilization. 
In  some  periods  men  are  found  as  hunters,  as  shep- 
herds, as  nomads ;  in  others  they  are  living  in 
cities ;  but  in  all  these  conditions  they  have  their 
religion." 

The  tendency  to  worship  some  superhuman  power 
is  universal.  This  native  instinct  of  the  soul  to 
worship  led  the  first  families  of  earth  to  deify  the 
sun,  moon,  stars, — to  give  to  them  moral  character, 
and  then  worship  them.  To  unenlightened  reason 
there  seemed  to  be  still  other  deities  who  needed  to 
be  propitiated  ;  hence  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the 


22  REASON   AND    REVELATION, 

fowls  of  the  air,  and  even  the  monsters  of  the  deep 
were  made  objects  of  worship.  And  still  other  diffi- 
culties of  providence  presented  themselves,  until  not 
only  the  whole  animate  kingdom,  but  even  the 
mountains  and  rivers  were  made  objects  of  devotion. 
Everything  in  the  universe,  it  was  thought,  must  be 
propitiated  by  prayer  and  sacrifice,  that  its  favor 
might  be  gained  for  man. 

Nor  does  the  fact  that  our  religious  nature  has 
gone  astray  in  establishing  religions  which  are  not 
only  antagonistic  to  each  other,  but  even  degrading 
and  cruel,  in  any  wise  disprove  the  theory  that  man 
was  made  to  worship  some  superhuman  power,  any 
more  than  the  perversion  of  other  native  faculties 
of  the  mind  throws  discredit  on  their  existence.  In 
this  particular  we  may  clearly  observe  that  the  re- 
ligious faculty  is  in  exact  keeping  with  every  other 
native  power  of  the  mind.  What  faculty  has  not 
been  perverted  ? 

As  natural  religion  is  the  foundation  upon  which 
revealed  religion  is  based,  it  is  for  that  reason  most 
important  that  this  proposition  be  most  thoroughly 
examined.  The  universality  of  religion  is  no  longer 
a  question  of  controversy  among  those  wdiose  intel- 
ligence entitles  them  to  respectful  consideration. 
But  infidelity  has  sought  to  account  for  this  universal 
phenomenon  in  some  other  way  than  by  admitting 
that  religion  is  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the 
soul.  For  to  admit  natural  religion  is  a  long  stride 
in  the  direction  of  admitting  revealed  religion.     The, 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  23 

importance,  therefore,  of  removing  this  foundation 
rock  has  been  clearly  observed  by  the  enemies  of 
the  Bible. 

(i)  It  has  been  claimed  that  this  universal  dis- 
position to  worship  has  grown  out  of  the  force  of 
circumstances,  and  not  from  the  nature  of  the  soul. 
Strauss  says  that  "  the  Epicurean  derivation  of  piety 
from  fear  has  incontestably  a  good  deal  of  truth  in 
it.  For  if  man  had  all  he  wishes,  if  his  needs  were 
always  satisfied,  if  his  plans  never  miscarried,  if  no 
painful  lessons  of  experience  constrained  him  to 
regard  the  future  with  apprehension,  the  notion  of  a 
higher  power  would  hardly  have  arisen  within  his 
breast.  He  would  have  thought  that  thus  it  must 
be,  and  accordingly  accepted  his  lot  with  stolid  in- 
difference" ("  The  Old  Faith  and  the  New,"  p.  109). 

But  this  argument  proves  one  of  two  things,  either 
of  which  is  too  much  for  the  objection,  viz.:  First,  that 
the  Creator  of  these  circumstances  has  *'  miscarried," 
as  to  the  universal  result  of  such  natural  influences, 
or  else.  Secondly,  this  environment  of  difficulty  was 
intended  by  the  Creator  to  produce  this  very 
tendency  to  piety,  and  that  this  universal  dis- 
position to  pray  is  but  the  legitimate  result  of 
natural  causes  with  which  man  has  been  surrounded. 
Hence,  even  though  we  assume  that  it  is  not  incor- 
porated in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  but  is  the  legiti- 
mate result  of  natural  causes,  yet  we  do  not  by 
such  assumption  get  rid  of  the  fact  that  religion  is 
natural,  but  only  make  it  the  product  of  divinely- 


24  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

appointed  instrumentalities.  If  the  disposition  to 
pray  was  not  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the  soul, 
it  was,  at  least,  given  by  divine  economy.  Such 
were  the  natural  contingencies  of  life  that  the  pro- 
pensity was  developed.  As  this  natural  result  must 
have  been  known  to  the  Creator,  he  is,  therefore, 
*  the  author  of  this  disposition  to  piety. 

But  this  infidel  proposition  is  a  most  groundless 
assumption,  contrary  to  both  analogy  and  philos- 
ophy. For  example:  if  the  conditions  of  life,  as  im- 
posed upon  man,  have  led  to  piety,  why,  we  may  well 
inquire,  have  not  other  animals  also  been  thus  led  to 
pray?  They  have  not  "had  all  they  wished;"  their 
"  needs  have  not  always  been  satisfied  ;"  their  **  plans 
have  miscarried;"  they  ''have  had  painful  lessons  of 
experience ;"  their  hfe,  in  these  particulars,  is  not 
dissimilar  to  that  of  man: — yet  they  have  never 
been  led  to  "  the  notions  of  a  higher  power " ! 
The  "  derivation  of  piety"  with  them  is  not  a  thing 
universal, — of  all  time  past  and  present, — as  with 
man. 

Is  it  claimed  that  the  lower  animals  are  inferior, 
and  less  intelligent  than  man,  and  that  for  this  reason 
they  have  not  sought  refuge  in  religion?  But  if 
superior  intelligence  in  man  has  led  him  to  a  univer- 
sal false  conclusion,  then  may  we  exclaim — 

"  Where  ignorance  is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise." 

Moreover,  philosophy,  as  well  as  analogy,  proves 
that  the  proposition  is  wholly  groundless.     If  the 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  2$ 

soul's  disposition  to  pray  be  accounted  for  on  the 
ground  of  external  causes,  why  not  proceed  to  claim 
that  the  soul  is  without  any  instinctive  tendencies 
except  as  they  are  produced  by  natural  surround- 
ings? Why  not  maintain  that  intellectuality  is  no 
part  of  the  mind,  but  that  this  universal  tendency  to 
seek  after  science  has  been  evolved  by  the  force  of 
circumstances?  And  why  not  go  farther  and  claim 
that  the  universal  disposition  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
questions  of  right  and  wrong  does  not  prove  that 
morality  inheres  in  the  nature  of  the  mind,  but  that 
the  difficulties  of  this  moral   state  have   developed 

this  world-wide  tendency and,  moreover,  that  the 

powers  of  love  and  hate  are  not  instinctive  in  the 
nature  of  the  soul,  but  that  they  are  simply  preter- 
natural excrescences,  produced  by  surrounding  beauty 
and  deformity?  And,  for  the  sake  of  logical  com- 
pleteness and  continuity  of  thought,  why  not  proceed 
to  eclipse  even  the  theory  of  atheistic  evolution,  by 
supposing  that  man  himself  is  not  the  creature  of  a 
Creator,  nor  yet  has  been  evolved  from  the  lower 
order  of  animals,  but  that  he  is  simply  an  seon,  or 
emanation  of  natural  surroundings  ?  If  the  universal 
tendency  to  worship  ''some  being  outside  of  and 
supposed  to  be  above  ourselves  "  does  not  demon- 
strate that  worship  is  in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  then 
we  may  well  inquire.  How  can  we,  aside  from  our 
own  consciousness,  demonstrate  the  existence  of  all, 
or  even  any,  of  the  so-called  faculties  of  the  mind  ? 
To  deny,  therefore,  the  fact  that  religion  inheres  in 


26  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

the  very  nature  of  the  human  soul  is  to  deny  all  the 
conceded  facts  of  mental  philosophy.  As  such 
denial  is  too  absurd  to  be  entertained,  we  must  con^ 
elude  that  the  objection  is  an  assumption  without 
any  foundation  in  fact. 

(2)  It  has  been  further  claimed  that  ''man  is  the 
subject  of  imitation  and  of  education  ;  and  there^ 
fore  this  universal  habit  of  worship."  We  admit 
the  proposition  that  man  is  the  subject  of  imitation 
and  education,  but  deny  the  conclusion,  that  this 
accounts  for  the  universal  habit  of  worship.  If  it 
be  claimed  that  the  present  generation  has  been 
trained,  by  example  and  precept,  to  this  "universal 
habit,"  we  may  naturally  inquire.  Where  did  the 
previous  generation,  who  did  the  training,  get  it? 
In  keeping  with  the  objection,  it  must  be  claimed 
that  the  habit  was  obtained  from  their  ancestors. 
But  then  the  question  comes  up  with  all  its  original 
force,  Where  did  they  get  it?  And  thus  in  every 
step  backward,  from  generation  to  generation,  the 
question  arises,  Where  did  they  get  this  disposition 
to  worship?  until  we  come  to  our  first  parents. 
And  there,  as  here,  we  ask  again  :  Whence  this 
tendency  to  pray,  and  feel  after  God  ?  And  the 
only  answer  is :  They  received  it  at  the  hand  of 
the  Creator. 

As  certainly,  therefore,  as  the  fish  was  made  for 
the  water,  and  the  bird  for  the  air, — as  certainly  as 
the  eye  was  made  for  the  light,  and  the  ear  for 
sound, — so  certainly  was  the  human  soul  made  for 


NATURAL   RELIGION.  27 

religion.  In  the  light  of  historic  and  philosophic 
truth  it  must  be  apparent  that  God  purposed,  in  the 
creation  of  man,  that  practical  religion  should  be 
the  first  and  highest  of  all  human  duties.  The  con- 
cession of  this  fact  is,  as  we  shall  see,  a  mighty  step 
in  the  direction  of  conceding  the  fact  of  revealed 
religion. 

Moreover,  religion  is  not  only  a  constituent  ele- 
ment in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  but  it  is  the  most 
important  part  of  the  nature.  The  very  definition 
of  the  term  clearly  indicates  its  purpose,  and  its  pur- 
pose makes  it  of  infinite  moment.  The  word  re- 
ligion is  from  two  Latin  words,  re,  again  or  back, 
and  ligo,  to  bind.  The  thought  is,  to  rebind  or  bind 
back.  God  is  holy;  but  the  creature,  because  of  the 
perversion  of  his  freedom,  is  unholy,  and  for  this 
cause  is  cut  loose  from  tlie  Creator.  But  though 
man  is  thus  cut  loose  from  God,  yet  he  is  left  with 
this  religious  faculty  which  seeks  to  rebind  or  bind 
him  back  to  God. 

It  may  be  objected  that  these  efforts  at  rebinding 
the  finite  back  to  the  Infinite  have  not  only  been 
wonderfully  fruitless  of  good  results,  but  most  pro- 
lific of  evil,  as  evinced  especially  in  heathenism  and 
in  the  abuse  of  Christianity.  It  may  be  observed, 
however,  that  while  the  tendency  Godward  has 
been  slow,  it  has  nevertheless  been  steady.  And  it 
will  be  seen,  farther  along,  that  the  highest  form  of 
benevolence  ever  known  to  our  race  has  been  the 
legitimate   result  of  the  highest  form   of  religion. 


28  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

Moreover,  we  shall  seek  to  show  in  the  next  chap- 
ter that  the  worst  form  of  religion  known  to  history 
was,  and  is,  better  than  no  form.  When  we  think 
of  the  depravity  of  our  nature,  we  can  hardly  im- 
agine a  religion  so  corrupt  as  not  to  be  better  than 
no  religion  at  all. 

Allowing  that  the  purpose  of  our  religious  nature 
is  to  rebind  the  soul  with  all  its  noble  powers  back 
to  the  source  of  all  good,  then  its  sublimity  of  aim 
is  beyond  comparison.  As  the  long  train  of  cars 
standing  upon  that  railroad  track,  loaded  with  pre- 
cious freight,  the  object  and  destiny  of  which  is  to 
feed  the  famishing  multitude  in  a  distant  state,  will 
stand  there  until  they  rot  down  upon  the  track,  un- 
less they  are  united  by  a  connecting  link  to  the  lo- 
comotive, in  which  alone  there  is  the  power  to  move 
them  to  their  destination,  so  likewise  man,  with 
his  noble  mind,  freighted  with  intellectuality,  so- 
ciality, and  morality,  and  having  the  inherent  legacy 
of  power  by  which  he  may  learn  to  love  supreme 
excellence  and  hate  iniquity, — man,  with  all  these 
native  and  Godlike  powers,  would  have  been  doomed 
to  live  like  a  beast  and  die  like  a  beast,  but  for  the 
connecting  link  of  religion,  which  unites  him  to  the 
infinite  *'I  Am  that  I  Am,"  in  whom  alone  there  is 
the  will,  the  wisdom,  and  the  power  to  move  the  soul 
with  all  its  heavenly  freightage  on  from  victory  to 
victory,  until  man  shall  stand  a  peer  with  the  angels 
and  forever  dwell  in  the  "  City  which  hath  founda- 
tions, whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.** 


NO    RELIGION.  29 

Without  religion  life  is  but  a  desert  sea,  with  no 
lighthouse  on  the  distant  coast:  and  man  is  without 
chart  or  rudder,  left  to  perish  among  the  foaming 
billows,  to  live  without  hope  and  to  die  without 
God.  This  representation  of  man  without  religion 
is  as  true  in  the  philosophy  of  experience  and  the 
light  of  history  as  it  is  in  the  revelation  of  God. 
If,  therefore,  a  man  can  be  found  who  can  truth- 
fully say,  "  I  have  no  religion — I  find  in  my  soul  no 
disposition  to  feel  after  God,  if  haply  I  might  find 
him,"  then  we  are  forced  to  the  sad  reflection  that 
that  man  either  is  a  freak  of  creation,  or  else,  what  is 
worse,  he  has  succeeded  in  destroying  not  only  the 
best  part  of  his  nature,  but  the  power  for  which  all 
other  powers  were  divinely  given. 


CHAPTER  II. 
NO     RELIGION. 

(i)  The  faculties  of  the  soul  subject  to  law. — (2)  These  laws  not 
equally  important. — (3)  Immutability  of  law. — (4)  The  penalties 
of  each  law  faithfully  enforced. 

As  the  Creator  has  endowed  the  human  mind 
with  the  faculty  of  religion,  the  individual  or  the 
nation  who  ignores  it,  or  refuses  to  observe  the  laws 
of  its  life  and  development,  does  a  wrong  which 
nothing  can  right.     This  proposition  will  be  illus- 


30  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

trated  under  the  light  of  the  following  facts  of  men- 
tal science  : 

First.  The  various  faculties  of  the  soul  have  been 
made  subject  to  law.  Of  this  there  can  be  no  intelli- 
gent doubt.  As  well  declare  that  the  body  and  its 
members  are  not  under  established  law  as  to  say  that 
the  faculties  of  the  mind  are  free  from  fixed  method. 
Moreover,  as  certainly  as  the  body  and  its  parts  have 
health  and  strength  upon  the  condition  of  their 
obedience  to  the  established  laws  of  their  being, 
so  certainly  do  the  various  faculties  of  the  soul 
reach  their  highest  attainment  by  obedience  to  the 
settled  methods  of  their  nature. 

Second.  These  laws  relating  to  the  native  faculties 
of  the  mind  are  not  equally  important  to  be  under- 
stood and  obeyed.  As  the  various  members  of  the 
body  are  each  of  consequence  but  not  all  equally  so, 
so  likewise  the  various  faculties  of  the  mind,  while 
each  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  perfect  whole,  are 
yet  not  all  alike  important.  Hence,  while  the  laws 
which  relate  to  these  different  parts  of  the  mind  are 
of  consequence  and  should  be  obeyed,  the  strength 
of  the  necessity  of  knowing  and  obeying  each  is  to 
be  determined  by  the  importance  of  the  faculty  with 
which  it  has  to  do.  As  the  eye  is  more  important 
than  the  hand,  the  laws  which  relate  to  the  former 
should  be  more  carefully  observed  than  those  which 
relate  to  the  latter.  So,  likewise,  that  faculty  of  the 
mind  which  seems  most  important  should  with 
greatest  diligence  be  brought  into  obedience  with 


NO   RELIGION.  3 1 

the  laws  of  its  nature.  Hence,  as  religion,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  is  to  bind  the  finite  back  to  the  Infi- 
nite, is,  as  previously  shown,  of  the  greatest  mo- 
ment, it  is  consequently  man's  first  privilege  and 
highest  duty  to  bring  that  faculty  into  blissful  har- 
mony with  the  administration  of  the  divine  meth- 
ods of  its  development.  The  comparative  impor- 
tance of  these  higher  and  lower  laws  will  be  illus- 
trated further  on. 

Third.  All  the  laws  of  God  are  immutable  in  their 
administration.  Not  only  has  the  Creator  made  man, 
body  and  soul,  subject  to  law,  but  he  has  also  at- 
tached to  these  laws  rewards  and  penalties,  which 
come  with  the  certainty  of  cause  and  effect.  As 
these  divine  methods  of  controlling  man  have  been 
established  in  the  councils  of  Infinite  wisdom,  with 
a  benevolent  design  to  the  good  of  man,  it  would 
seem  to  follow  that  the  heavenly  council  must  have 
determined  that  the  greatest  good  should  come  to 
our  race  by  enforcing  these  divine  methods  without 
let  or  hindrance. 

The  enforcement  of  these  laws  is  more  inexorable 
than  are  the  laws  of  man.  The  railroad  corporation 
may  determine  that  no  one  shall  stand  or  walk  upon 
their  track.  And  yet  a  man  may  violate  that  rule 
and  hope  to  escape  the  consequences.  If  observed 
by  the  engineer  whose  train  is  coming  with  fearful 
speed,  he  may  confidently  expect  that,  to  save  his 
life,  the  engineer  will  blow  the  whistle,  ring  the  bell, 
and  even  reverse  the  engine.     But  he  who  stands  on 


32  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  track  of  the  Almighty,  in  violation  of  the  divine 
law,  need  not  hope  for  the  blowing  of  whistles,  ringing 
of  bells,  or  reversing  of  engines — but  may  be  assured 
that  "  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die."  As  well 
may  a  man  put  his  hand  into  the  fire  and  hope  to 
escape  the  consequence  of  his  folly,  as  to  violate  the 
divine  laws  of  the  soul  and  hope  to  avoid  the  awful 
consequences  of  such  violation. 

Nor  is  there  forgiveness,  in  the  sense  of  removing 
the  evil  results  attending  the  violation  of  the  law. 
The  doctrine,  therefore,  however  popular,  which 
leads  man  to  believe  that  he  can  sin  with  impunity, 
and  that  repentance  will  not  only  restore  him  to  the 
divine  favor,  but  will  also  give  back  the  lost  ener- 
gies of  the  soul,  which  have  gone  as  the  result  of 
violated  law,  is  as  destructive  to  human  happiness 
as  it  is  foolish,  sacrilegious,  and  profane. 

There  is  no  doctrine  in  the  Bible  more  to  be 
prized  than  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness;  and  none 
more  precious  in  the  blessed  experience  of  the  hum- 
ble penitent  than  the  truth  that  "  if  we  confess  our 
sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins." 
But  we  aver  that  forgiveness  with  God  is  the  direct 
result  of  obedience  to  certain  other  laws  of  our  be- 
ing, and  has  nothing  directly  to  do  with  the  evil 
consequences  of  violated  law. 

The  doctrine  of  forgiveness,  as  often  taught, 
grants  license  to  continue  in  sin.  Convince  a  man 
that  he  can  repent  and  get  forgiveness  of  his  sins  to- 
morrow, in  the  sense  that  he  may  be  released  from 


NO   RELIGION.  33 

the  record  of  his  past  life,  and  he  will  find  an 
apology  for  violating  the  laws  of  God  to-day. 
Make  him  believe  that  he  will  have  an  opportunity 
to  repent  in  the  next  world,  and  he  will  find  it  quite 
convenient  to  keep  on  sinning  while  in  this.  But 
the  Bible  nowhere  authorizes  us  to  teach  a  man  that 
he  can  repent  and  get  forgiveness  to-morrow,  much 
less  in  eternity.  Upon  the  subject  of  repentance 
and  forgiveness  in  the  future,  the  Bible  is  as  silent 
as  the  grave.  The  voice  of  Satan  is  ''  To-morrow  ;" 
but  the  voice  of  God  is  "  Now."  '^  Now  is  the  ac- 
cepted time ;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 

There  is  a  theory,  quite  in  accord  with  human  de- 
pravity, that  teaches  us  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  the  sinner  dying  at  the  age  of  four- 
score years,  providing  he  cries  for  mercy  before 
ceasing  to  breathe — if  only,  while  he  is  making  his 
last  round  of  rebellion  against  God,  he  repents  just 
before  he  goes  over  into  the  awful,  yawning  abyss — 
no  difference  between  this  old  fossil  of  iniquity  and 
the  aeed  father  in  Israel  whose  whole  life  has  been 
one  of  prayerful  training  in  the  school  of  Christ ! 

What  a  pity  and  a  mistake  that  our  Saviour  while 
on  earth  did  not  inform  us  of  the  hour  of  our  exit, 
that  we  might  have  that  all-important  "  inch  of 
time"  in  which  to  prune  off  our  worldly  feathers, 
oil  up  our  religious  wings,  and  fly  away  to  glory ! 

The  theory  is  based  upon  the  groundless  supposi- 
tion that  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  teach,  live, 
and   sacrifice,  that  he  might  ''  prepare    us  to  die  " 
8 


34  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

rather  than  to  live.  Death  is  a  solemn  event,  we 
know;  but  life  is  infinitely  more  important.  Death 
is  but  an  event  in  the  history  of  life ;  for  we  shall 
be  in  life  even  after  death.  The  words  we  utter,  the 
life  we  live,  and  the  spirit  we  breathe,  will  go  with 
us  to  the  Great  Hereafter.  And  if  these  words  have 
been  words  of  prayer  and  truth, — this  life,  one  of  jus- 
tice, mercy,  and  humility, — and  this  spirit,  one  of 
love  to  God  and  good-will  to  men, — these  Christian 
graces  of  life,  and  not  the  circumstances  of  death, 
will  be  the  only  conditions  upon  which  we  shall 
hear  that  most  blessed  "  Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant." 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  our  words  and  life  have 
been  those  of  deception  and  blasphemy,  of  injustice, 
cruelty,  and  arrogant  presumption,  and  our  spirits 
alien  to  the  spirit  of  Christ,  it  will  be  in  virtue  of 
such  a  life  of  ungodliness  that  we  shall  merit  and 
receive  the  awful  denunciation,  "  I  never  knew  you. 
Depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity." 

We  should  therefore  feel,  and  strive  to  make 
others  realize,  that  when  we  violate  the  laws  of  God 
we  touch  chords  that  shall  vibrate  for  evil  through 
the  cycles  of  eternity. 

That  this  truth  of  God  may  be  an  abiding  con- 
viction of  our  souls,  let  us  seek  both  a  philosophical 
and  a  Biblical  answer  to  the  following  questions  : 

(i)  What  is  the  nature  and  extent  of  forgiveness 
with  God?  (2)  What  is  its  necessity?  (3)  What 
are  its  results  ? 


NO   RELIGION.  35 

(i)  The  nature  and  extent  of  forgiveness.  Let 
us  suppose  a  sin  that  is  fourfold  in  its  tendencies. 
For  example :  A  man  may  visit  the  saloon,  and 
spend  for  rum  the  money  which  rightfully  belongs 
to  his  family.  As  one  sin  follows  another,  so  tip- 
pling leads  to  drinking,  drinking  to  drunkenness,  and 
drunkenness  to  ruin.  As  may  be  seen,  he  has  (i) 
robbed  his  home  of  its  furniture  ;  he  has  clothed  his 
children  in  rags,  and  deprived  them  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  education  ;  he  has  made  his  once  hopeful 
wife  a  most  pitiable  object  of  despair.  He  has  (2) 
sinned  against  his  own  body,  in  that  he  has  made 
that  once  vigorous  frame  a  physical  wreck,  trembling 
under  the  weight  of  iniquity.  But  he  has  (3) 
wronged  his  own  soul  in  that  he  has  robbed  it  of  its 

o 

manhood  ;  and  he  feels  that  he  is  neither  fit  to  live 
nor  prepared  to  die.  And  still  more  and  worse,  (4) 
conscience,  echoing  the  voice  of  God,  brandishes 
a  sharp  scourge  within,  filling  the  soul  with  appre- 
hensions and  awful  forebodings  of  a  judgment  to 
come  ;  and  in  his  vision  of  delirium  he  looks  in  upon 
his  own  soul  and  beholds  it  a  cage  of  unclean  birds, 
— of  wild  beasts,  tearing,  tormenting,  and  destroying, 
until  the  last  spark  of  hope  is  well-nigh  extinguished. 
This  is  no  overdrawn  picture  of  the  awful  results 
of  violated  law. 

But  before  the  night  of  despair  sets  in  and  death 
comes  to  end  all,  conviction  steals  upon  his  mind. 
"  He  comes  to  himself."  He  now,  as  never  before, 
sees  what  he  has  done  for  his  family,  for  his  body, 


36  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

for  his  soul,  and  toward  his  God.  His  feet  seem  to 
be  sinking  for  the  last  time  into  the  horrible  pit  of 
black  despair.  With  a  trembling  faith  he  looks  up 
to  that  God  whose  laws  he  has  despised,  and  in  the" 
deepest  contrition  of  an  agonizing  spirit  he  cries, 
"God  have  mercy  upon  me,  a  sinner!"  And,  quick 
as  the  spark  from  the  red  smitten  steel,  he  hears  the 
voice  of  mercy,  "  Thy  sins,  which  are  many,  are  for- 
given." 

Now,  to  settle  this  question  of  forgiveness  once 
for  all,  we  have  only  to  inquire  as  to  what,  of  all 
this  life  of  debauch,  has  been  forgiven.  And  to 
ascertain  this,  let  us  for  the  time  close  our  ears  to 
the  voice  of  speculative  theology  and  hear  only  the 
voice  of  reason,  founded  upon  common  observation 
and  experience. 

Bear  in  mind,  the  sin  was  fourfold — viz.,  against 
the  family,  against  the  body,  against  the  soul,  and 
against  God  :  that  is,  domestic  sin,  physical  sin,  psy- 
chological sin,  and  relative  or  moral  sin. 

{a)  Would  the  act  of  wifely  forgiveness  pardon, 
in  the  sense  of  restoring  the  lost  furniture  of  the 
house  and  the  children's  lost  opportunities  for  edu- 
cation ?  Or  would  it  simply  take  that  banished  hus- 
band back  into  the  bosom  of  the  family  and  restore 
him  to  his  God-given  relationship?  At  best,  that 
act  of  forgiveness  can  do  nothing  more  than  the  lat- 
ter. If  more  comes,  it  must  be  the  result  of  a  new 
obedience  to  domestic  law. 

{b)  Did  forgiveness  with  God  restore  the  wrong 


NO   RELIGION.  37 

that  was  done  to  the  body  ?  Forgiveness  has  been 
full  and  free,  and  yet  the  blood  is  still  in  his  eye, 
the  bloat  is  yet  upon  his  cheek,  and  his  step  trem- 
bling and  feeble.  The  effects  of  physical  sin  still 
cling  to  him.  The  violated  laws  still  reap  vengeance. 
The  act  of  forgiveness  has  only  accepted  the  little 
of  physical  strength  that  yet  remains  as  a  living  sac- 
rifice. 

(c)  When  God  freely  forgave  this  repenting  sin- 
ner, did  he  pardon  in  the  sense  of  removing  the  evil 
effects  brought  to  bear  upon  the  soul?  During 
these  years  of  dissipation  the  soul  was  robbed  of 
much  of  its  native  power  to  think,  of  many  precious 
opportunities  to  develop  its  higher  faculties  of 
morality  and  religion,  and,  above  all,  of  its  power 
to  resist  temptation  and  cleave  to  the  right.  In  the 
act  of  forgiveness  are  these  powers  and  opportunities 
all  restored  ?  The  voice  of  common-sense  answers, 
No  !  What  God  did  for  the  body  he  has  done  for 
the  soul ;  he  has  accepted  it,  weak  and  helpless  as 
it  is,  and  not  strong  as  it  might  have  been  but  for 
sin.  And  more,  he  gives  his  grace  to  help  in  time 
to  come.  And  because  of  the  evil  results  of  violated 
law,  it  will  require  eternal  vigilance  on  the  sinner's 
part  and  all  the  appliances  of  the  grace  of  God  to 
keep  him  out  of  the  whirlpool  of  ruin.  No  mattej- 
how  thoroughly  an  old  sinner  may  have  been  con- 
verted, nor  how  freely  he  may  have  been  forgiven, 
nor  yet  how  rapidly  he  may  be  making  strides  from 
the  region  of  darkness  to  the  land  of  light,  ask  that 


38  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

man,  and  he  will  tell  you,  in  the  bitter  experience 
of  his  soul,  that  those  years  of  rebellion  against  God 
hane  like  millstones  about  his  neck, tending  to  drag 
him  back  into  the  old  vortex  of  habit.  All  that  has 
been  removed  and  pardoned  in  the  act  of  forgive- 
ness is  the  relative  or  moral  sin  which  separates  us 
from  God.  God  removes  from  our  soul  the  feelings 
of  alienation,  and  sends  forth  his  spirit,  whereby  we 
say, ''  Father !"  He  does  not  permit  our  previous  sins 
to  be  our  eternal  overthrow ;  but  because  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws  of  faith,  hope,  and  prayer,  and 
faithful  devotedness  to  right-doing,  he  sends  forth 
this  spirit  of  adoption. 

Thus  our  averment  that  forgiveness  is  the  blessed 
result  of  obedience  to  other  laws  of  our  being,  and 
has  nothing  directly  to  do  with  the  evil  consequences 
of  violated  law,  must  be  apparent  to  all  reflecting 
minds.  Thus,  too,  we  vindicate  the  immutability  of 
God's  administrative  justice. 

(2)  What  is  the  necessity  of  forgiveness  ?  Much, 
every  way.  Had  these  sins  which  intervened  be- 
tween the  soul  and  God  not  been  pardoned,  all  had 
been  wretchedness,  misery,  and  utter  ruin :  but  now 
all  is  hope  and  joy.  Had  the  father  said  to  the 
prodigal  son,  who  had  spent  his  substance  in  riotous 
living,  *'  Return  to  the  land  of  destitution  and  per- 
ish  in  despair,"  how  it  would  have  filled  the  soul 
with  the  bitter  wail,  ''  Lost,  lost,  lost  1"  But  when 
he. meets  him  with  the  kiss  of  affection,  and  puts  on 
his  trembling  hand  the  ring,  the  emblem  of  a  father's 


NO    RELIGION.  39 

endless  love,  what  infinite  blessedness  invigorates 
the  fainting  soul ! 

(3)  JV/iat  are  the  results  of  forgiveness  ?  Although 
they  have  not  interposed  between  sin  and  its  legiti- 
mate consequences,  yet  the  soul  which  had  been 
shut  up  with  sin,  and  hence  shut  out  from  God  and 
of  necessity  doomed  to  ^*  banishment  from  the  pres- 
ence of  God  and  the  glory  of  his  power,"  is  now 
rescued  from  the  further  dreadful  consequences  of 
sin,  transplanted  into  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  may  forever  sing  the  songs  of  praise  for 
his  redemption.  And  his  cup,  though  small  because 
of  sin  and  wasted  opportunities,  is  full  of  joy  and 
praise  to  the  great  King. 

From  all  this  we  learn  three  important  lessons  : 
First,  when  Ave  violate  the  laws  of  God  we  do  an  ir- 
reparable wrong  to  our  own  souls.  Secondly,  we 
shut  ourselves  up  with  sin,  our  worst  enemy,  and  of 
necessity  away  from  God,  our  best  friend.  Thirdly, 
we  learn  that  however  sinful  we  have  been,  God,  in 
his  infinite  mercy,  accepts  the  humble  penitent  with 
all  his  weakened  powers  and  wasted  opportunities, 
and  imparts  his  grace  to  help  in  time  to  come,  on 
the  condition  of  repentance. 

Fourth.  The  penalty  attached  to  each  violated  law 
will  be  faithfully  enforced^  however  perfectly  we  may 
observe  any  or  every  other  law  of  the  soul.  Human 
government  may  say  to  the  public,  *'  You  are  at  lib- 
erty to  do  a  certain  amount  of  evil,  provided  you 
will  consent  to  do  a  given  amount  of  good."     For 


40  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

example :  A  man  gets  it  into  his  perverted  heart  to 
sell  rum, — an  occupation  which  he  knows,  if  he  has 
sense  enough  to  make  his  business  a  financial  suc- 
cess, will  tend  to  send  his  neighbor  to  a  premature 
grave,  fill  the  almshouse  with  fatherless  children, 
crush  the  hopes  of  loving  mothers,  and  scatter  like 
autumn  leaves  the  firebrands  of  wretchedness  and 
death.  As  his  depraved  soul  has  come  to  the  satanic 
conclusion  to  do  worse  than  murder  his  brother,  he 
makes  application  for  license  to  sell  rum  ;  and  the 
court,  by  authority  of  legislative  enactments,  grants 
a  permit  to  do  this  evil  on  the  condition  of  the  pay- 
ment of  a  hundred  dollars.  That  is,  the  court  as- 
sumes to  say,  "  Obey  one  law  of  the  state  by  doing 
one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  good,  and  we  will  grant 
you  the  privilege  of  violating  another  law  of  social  or- 
der, by  which  you  may  do  an  inexpressible  amount  of 
evil."  But  Heaven  has  not  enacted  a  law  which  may 
be  violated  on  the  condition  of  obedience  to  any  or 
all  other  laws  of  our  being.  While  any  law  obeyed 
brings  its  reward,  regardless  of  others,  so  any  law 
violated  is  attended  with  evil  consequences,  no  mat- 
ter how  perfectly  we  may  obey  any  or  all  others. 
The  divine  government  is  inexorable,  and  will  not 
permit  us  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come. 

If  we  obey  the  laws  of  the  body  we  shall,  by  so 
far,  receive  the  reward  of  well-doing.  But  if  at  the 
same  time  we  violate  the  divine  laws  of  the  soul,  we 
are  doomed  to  drink  the  very  dregs  of  the  cup  of 
our   iniquity.     So,  likewise,  if  we  carefully  observe 


NO    RELIGION.  4I 

the  laws  of  intellectual  development,  we  shall  reap 
the  reward  of  our  sowing.  Meantime,  however,  if 
we  violate  the  laws  of  the  moral  faculty,  we  may- 
have  gone  down  to  the  depths  of  moral  degradation. 
"  One  individual  who  has  inherited  a  fine  bodily 
constitution  from  his  parents,  and  observes  the  rules 
of  temperance  and  exercise,  will  enjoy  robust  health, 
although  he  may  cheat,  lie,  blaspheme,  and  destroy 
his  fellow-men  ;  while  another,  if  he  have  inherited 
a  feeble  constitution,  and  disregards  the  rules  of 
temperance  and  exercise,  will  suffer  pain  and  sick- 
ness, although  he  may  be  a  paragon  of  every 
Christian  virtue."  The  world  has  produced  not  a 
few  physical  and  intellectual  giants,  who  were  never- 
theless moral  and  spiritual  dwarfs. 

If  this  method  of  divine  government  were  clearly 
understood,  many  of  the  providences  of  God  which 
seem  inscrutable  would  be  seen  to  be  clear  as  the 
sun.  This  thought  will  be  made  clear  in  the  use  of 
the  following  illustration  :  Two  ships  are  out  upon 
the  high  sea.  One  has  on  board  missionaries,  Bibles, 
and  tracts,  whose  object  is  to  give  the  Hght  of  Chris- 
tian civilization  to  those  who  sit  in  the  darkness 
of  heathenism.  The  other  is  loaded  with  pirates 
and  implements  of  cruel  death,  whose  mission  is  to 
murder  and  steal.  The  storm  is  high,  and  every 
mountain-wave  threatens  to  sink  the  ships  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  Meantime  the  vessel  in  which  the 
missionaries  are  springs  a  leak,  and  the  missionaries, 
Bibles,  and  tracts  find  a  watery  grave  in  the  depths 


42  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

of  the  ocean,  while  the  ship  in  which  the  pirates  are 
rides  proudly  over  the  perilous  waters,  and  on  they 
go  to  blood  and  death. 

''  Mysterious  providence  !"  says  the  infidel.  ''  Mys- 
terious providence!"  echoes  the  unthinking  Christian. 
Nothing  mysterious  in  all  this  if  we  remennber  two 
things  :  first,  ships  do  not  float  in  virtue  of  moral 
but  of  physical  law  ;  secondly,  no  moral  law  has 
been  violated  and  no  moral  results  attend — only  the 
physical  law  has  been  broken  which  requires  vessels 
to  be  water-tight  in  order  to  float,  and  only  physi- 
cal consequences  have  come  as  the  result.  Because 
of  the  independent  operation  of  law  these  pirates, 
while  they  receive  the  benefits  of  obedience  to 
physical  law,  have  the  harvest  of  soul-wretchedness 
which  comes  as  the  result  of  violated  moral  and 
spiritual  law.  They  have  observed  the  lower  law 
and  violated  the  higher,  and  are  reaping  the  result 
of  their  sowing.  So  of  the  missionaries  ;  while  their 
bodies  went  down  because  a  physical  law  had  been 
broken,  their  souls  Went  up  to  receive  the  "  Well 
done,"  in  virtue  of  their  obedience  to  the  higher 
spiritual  laws  of  their  being. 

Again,  on  the  lap  of  that  mother  who  has  been 
bereft  of  her  husband  lies  her  only  and  beautiful 
boy,  who,  she  confidently  expects,  will  be  her  staff 
and  support  in  her  declining  years.  But,  alas  !  he 
grows  sick,  pale,  and  at  last  dies.  ''  Oh  !  why,"  ex- 
claims the  heart-stricken  mother,  "  should  my  dear 
boy  have  opened  his  eyes,  only  to  close  them  in  an 


NO    RELIGION.  43 

endless  night  ?"  To  her  this  providence  is  an  in- 
scrutable mystery  unless  she  recognizes  two  impor- 
tant considerations:  first,  that  at  some  time  and  by 
some  one  a  physical  law  has  been  violated,  and  that 
death  has  come  as  a  relief  and  blessing  to  the  child  ; 
and  secondly,  that  the  light  of  life  has  gone  out  on 
the  shore  of  time  that  it  might  be  lighted  up  on  the 
strand  of  eternity.  Moreover,  this  may  be  an  in- 
strumentality more  powerful  than  any  sermon  ever 
preached,  beckoning  the  mother  up  to  the  land 
where  angels  dwell.  Nothing  but  a  physical  law  has 
been  violated  ;  and  no  evil  has  come  which,  in  virtue 
of  obedience  to  a  better  law,  Heaven  will  not  vastly 
more  than  compensate. 

Even  in  our  short-sightedness  we  can  see  some- 
thing of  the  fatherly  benevolence  of  Him  who  has 
determined,  in  the  councils  of  his  own  wisdom,  that 
the  penalty  attached  to  each  violated  law  shall  be 
faithfully  enforced. 

Moreover,  it  may  be  in  the  line  of  human  duty  to 
violate  the  lower  law  that  we  may  obey  the  higher. 
For  example  :  It  is  the  hour  of  midnight.  The  cot- 
tage is  in  flames,  in  which  there  are  sleeping  a  widow 
and  her  five  children,  unconscious  of  their  danger. 
While  the  law  of  bodily  safety  to  yourself  may  say, 
'*  Keep  out  of  the  fire,"  the  golden  rule  may  urge  you 
to  rush  through  the  flames  and  bring  out  the  mother 
and  her  helpless  children  and  save  them  from  the 
awful  death,  even  at  the  cost  of  wounds  to  yourself. 
Then  while,  because  of  violated  physical  law,  your 


44  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

body  may  be  writhing  in  agony,  your  soul,  in  virtue 
of  obedience  to  the  higher  law  of  humanity,  may  be 
filled  with  ecstatic  joy.  If,  therefore,  one  law  comes 
in  conflict  with  another,  the  line  of  duty  is  indicated 
by  ascertaining  which  is  the  higher.  Or  if  the 
divine  law  encounters  the  human,  we  are  not  to 
hesitate  as  to  who  shall  be  obeyed,  God  or  man. 

From  the  foregoing  philosophical  proposition  and 
illustrations,  it  must  be  apparent  to  the  thoughtful 
mind  that  man's  first  and  highest  obligation  is  to 
bring  himself  into  harmony  with  the  administration 
of  the  laws  of  his  religious  nature. 

As  shown  in  the  previous  chapter,  the  religious 
faculty  is  that  alone  which  binds  the  finite  back  to 
the  Infinite ;  and,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  next 
chapter,  it  is  this  part  of  man's  nature  which  deter- 
mines more  than  anything  else  the  character  of  the 
individual  or  the  nation.  As  this  is  the  highest 
part  of  our  being,  the  laws  which  relate  to  it  are  of 
first  importance.  We  repeat,  therefore,  that  the 
individual  or  nation  ignoring  this  native  endowment, 
or  refusing  to  observe  the  laws  of  its  life  and  devel- 
opment, does  a  wrong  to  the  soul  which  nothing  can 
right.  The  lowest  form  of  religion  known  to  our 
race  is  vastly  better  than  no  form  at  all.  The  near- 
est to  nothing  of  religion  practiced  by  mankind  is 
that  of  the  Fetich  worshipers  of  Africa.  But  that 
this  is  infinitely  better  than  no  religion  may  be 
clearly  seen  by  a  comparison  between  atheistic 
France  and  superstitious  Africa.     The    corruptions 


NO    RELIGION.  45 

of  the  Roman  Church  brought  on  the  French  Revo- 
lution, which  established  atheism  and  the  statutory- 
enactment  of  '*  No  religion."  The  inhuman  cruelty 
and  wretchedness  which  followed  in  the  wake  of 
this  Revolution  stand  out  in  the  bloody  pages  of 
history  as  an  awful  illustration  of  the  unutterable 
curse  which  must  rest  upon  the  nation  which  has 
thrown  off  all  allegiance  to  religion,  and  more 
especially  when  it  pits  itself  against  the  highest  form 
of  religion  known  to  our  race. 

"  The  only  instance  in  which  the  avowed  rejecters 
of  revelation  have  possessed  the  supreme  power  and 
government  of  a  country,  and  have  attempted  to 
dispose  of  human  happiness  according  to  their  own 
doctrines  and  wishes,  is  that  of  France  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  Revolution,  which,  it  is  now  well 
known,  was  effected  by  the  abettors  of  infidelity. 
The  name  and  profession  of  Christianity  were  re- 
nounced by  the  legislature,  and  the  abolition  of  the 
Christian  era  was  proclaimed.  Death  was  declared  by 
an  act  of  the  republican  government  to  be  an  eternal 
sleep.  The  existence  of  the  Deity  and  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  were  formally  disavowed  by  the 
National  Convention  ;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead  was  declared  to  have  been 
only  preached  by  superstition  for  the  torment  of  the 
living.  All  the  religions  in  the  world  were  pro- 
claimed to  be  the  daughters  of  ignorance  and  pride  ; 
and  it  was  decreed  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Convention 
to   assume  the   honorable   office    of   disseminating 


46  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

atheism  (which  was  blasphemously  affirmed  to  be  the 
truth)  over  all  the  world. 

"  As  a  part  of  this  duty,  the  Convention  further 
decreed  that  its  express  renunciation  of  all  religious 
worship  should,  like  its  invitations  to  rebellion,  be 
translated  into  all  foreign  languages ;  and  it  was 
asserted  and  received  in  the  Convention  that  the 
adversaries  of  religion  had  deserved  well  of  their 
country  !  Correspondent  with  these  professions  and 
declarations  were  the  effects  actually  produced. 
Public  worship  was  utterly  abolished.  The  churches 
were  converted  into  *  temples  of  reason,*  in  which 
atheistical  and  licentious  homilies  were  substituted 
for  the  proscribed  service  ;  and  an  absurd  and  ludi- 
crous imitation  of  the  pagan  mythology  was  exhibited 
under  the  title  of  'the  religion  of  reason.*  In  the 
principal  church  of  every  town  a  tutelary  goddess 
was  installed  with  a  ceremony  equally  pedantic, 
frivolous,  and  profane ;  and  the  females  selected  to 
personify  this  new  divinity  were  mostly  prostitutes, 
who  received  the  admiration  of  the  attendant  muni- 
cipal officers,  and  of  the  multitudes  whom  fear,  or 
force,  or  motive  of  gain  had  collected  together  on 
the  occasion.  Contempt  for  religion  or  decency  be- 
came the  test  of  attachment  to  the  government ; 
and  the  gross  infraction  of  any  moral  or  social  duty 
was  deemed  a  proof  of  civism  and  a  victory  over 
prejudice. 

"  All  distinction  of  right  and  wrong  was  confound- 
ed.   The  grossest  debauchery  triumphed.    The  reign 


NO    RELIGION.  47 

of  atheism  and  of  reason  was  the  reign  of  terror. 
'  Then  proscription  followed  proscription,  tragedy 
followed  after  tragedy,  in  almost  breathless  succes- 
sion, on  the  theater  of  France.  Almost  the  whole 
nation  was  converted  into  a  horde  of  assassins. 
Democracy  and  atheism,  hand  in  hand,  desolated 
the  country  and  converted  it  into  one  vast  field  of 
rapine  and  of  blood.'  In  one  part  of  France,  the 
course  of  a  river  (the  Loire)  was  impeded  by  the 
drowned  bodies  of  the  ministers  of  religion,  several 
hundreds  of  whom  were  destroyed  in  its  waters ; 
children  were  sentenced  to  death  for  the  faith  and 
loyalty  of  their  parents ;  and  they  whose  infancy 
had  sheltered  them  from  the  fire  of  the  soldiery 
were  bayoneted  as  they  clung  about  the  knees  of 
their  destroyers. 

"  The  moral  and  social  ties  were  unloosed,  or  rather 
torn  asunder.  For  a  man  to  accuse  his  own  father 
was  declared  to  be  an  act  of  civism  worthy  of  a  true 
republican ;  and  to  neglect  it,  was  pronounced  a 
crime  that  should  be  punished  with  death.  Accord- 
ingly, women  denounced  their  husbands,  and  mothers 
their  sons,  as  bad  citizens  and  traitors ;  while  many 
women,  not  of  the  dress  of  the  common  people  nor 
of  infamous  reputation,  but  respectable  in  character 
and  appearance,  seized  with  savage  ferocity  between 
their  teeth  the  mangled  limbs  of  their  murdered 
countrymen. 

"  France  during  this  period  was  a  theater  of  crimes 
which,  after  all  preceding  perpetrations,  have  excited 


48  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

in  the  mind  of  every  spectator  amazement  and 
horror.  The  miseries  suffered  by  that  single  nation 
have  changed  all  the  histories  of  the  preceding  suf- 
ferings of  mankind  into  idle  tales,  and  have  been 
enhanced  and  multiplied  without  a  precedent,  with- 
out a  number,  and  without  a  name.  The  kingdom 
appeared  to  be  changed  into  one  great  prison,  the 
inhabitants  converted  into  felons  ;  and  the  common 
doom  of  man  commuted  for  the  violence  of  the 
sword  and  bayonet,  the  sucking-boat  and  the  guillo- 
tine. To  contemplative  men  it  seemed  for  a  season 
as  if  the  knell  of  the  whole  nation  was  tolled,  and 
the  world  summoned  to  its  execution  and  its  fune- 
ral. Within  the  short  period  of  ten  years  not  less 
than  three  millions  of  human  beings  are  supposed 
to  have  perished  in  that  single  country  by  the  in- 
fluence of  atheism.  Were  the  world  to  adopt  and 
be  governed  by  the  doctrines  of  revolutionary 
France,  what  crimes  would  not  mankind  perpetrate? 
What  agonies  would  they  not  suffer?"  (Home's  In- 
troduction to  the  Study  of  the  Scriptures,  p.  25.*) 

Only  let  atheism,  or  '*  no  religion,"  be  popularized 
in  this  God-favored  land,  and  our  country,  because 
of  its  superior  intelligence,  is  doomed  to  sink  to 
lower  depths  of  iniquity  and  consequent  wretched- 
ness than  were  ever  known  to  any  nation  of  the 
globe. 

*  Yet  the  France  of  that  day  was  held  up  by  many  infidels  of 
our  own  country  as  an  example  worthy  to  be  followed. 


NO   RELIGION.  49 

We  may  observe  the  laws  of  intellectual  life  and 
development,  go  from  colleG:e  to  college,  from  uni- 
versity  to   university,    for   intellectual   advantages, 
and  thus  by  dint  of  effort  cut  out  the  niches  upon 
the  mountain-side  by  which  we  climb  to  the  summit, 
and  there  stand  proud  monuments  of    intellectual 
grandeur;  and  yet,  as  knowledge  is  simply  power, 
serving  alike  in  the  hand  of  angel  or  devil,  a  nation 
of  such  would,  like  France,  become  a  nation  of  edu- 
cated devils.     Were  it  possible  for  us  to  obey  all  the 
laws  of  our  being,  bolh  body  and  soul,  and  yet  dis- 
regard the  laws  of  our  religious  nature  and  seek  to 
throw  off  all  allegiance  to  the  Almighty,  then  our 
doom  is  photographed  in  the  nation  of  "  no  relig- 
ion."     No   matter   for    our    intelligence,    material 
wealth,  implements  of  war,  national  fame,  or  any  or 
all  of  the  instrumentalities  of  civilization:  only  let 
unbelief  in  the  Bible  be  popularized,  and  bold  atheism 
stalk  abroad  like  the  devil  of  old,  and  the  bloody 
record  of  our  future  history  will  not  only  tell  of  our 
infidelity  to  God,  but  on  every  page  will  be  written, 
''  Calamity — lamentation — woe — woe  —  unutterable 
wretchedness."      Let    us   have   all    the  legends    of 
paganism,  the  hobgoblin  stories  of  Jewish  supersti- 
tion, and  more  too,  rather  than  be  cursed  with  the 
curse  of  *'  no  religion." 
4 


50  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

CHAPTER  III. 
ETHNIC    RELIGION. 

(i)  Practical  religion  tends  to  the  transformation  of  moral  charac- 
ter.— (2)  Perfect  manhood  can  be  hoped  for  only  as  the  result 
of  worshiping  an  absolutely  pure  and  holy  being, — (3)  In  the 
whole  range  of  pagan  religion  such  absolute  holiness  of  charac- 
ter in  the  object  worshiped  is  not  to  be  found. — (4)  Hence  the 
necessity  of  a  revealed  religion,  such  as  would  meet  the  demands 
of  the  soul's  nature. 

From  the  foregoing,  we  are  certainly  prepared  to 
assume  that  religion  inheres  in  the  human  soul  as 
the  noblest  element  of  our  nature,  and  that  any  vio- 
lation of  the  laws  of  this  part  of  our  being  must  be 
attended  with  a  wrong  to  the  soul  which  nothing 
can  right.  Having  taken  the  first  step,  we  are  pre- 
pared to  take  the  second,  viz.,  that  natural  religion 
is  a  sure  prophecy  of  revealed  religion,  if  it  can  be 
shown  that  such  a  revelation  was  a  necessity.  Cer- 
tainly God  has  not  created  anything  without  its 
corollary.  A  wise  and  benevolent  Creator  would 
not  have  made  a  fish  had  there  been  no  water  in 
which  it  could  swim.  The  delicate  eye  had  not  been 
constructed  but  for  the  existence  of  light.  So  nei- 
ther would  God  have  created  a  faculty  of  the  soul 
without  providing  an  adequate  means  for  its  appro- 
priate development.  To  suppose  otherwise  is  not 
only  to  reflect  upon  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
the   Creator,  but    it    is   to   contradict    the   obvious 


ETHNIC   RELIGION.  5 1 

teachings  of  both  analogy  and  philosophy.  The 
most  perfect  fitness^  adaptation^  and  arrangement^ 
indicating  an  infinite  design^  are  everywhere  to  be 
seen  by  the  intelligent  eye.  If  then  man  was 
made  for  religion,  it  only  remains  to  be  shown  that 
revealed  religion  was  a  necessity  of  man's  nature. 
From  comparative  religion  we  shall  seek  to  estab- 
lish the  following  propositions  : 

(i)  Practical  religion  tends  to  the  transformation 
of  moral  character. 

(2)  Perfect  manhood  can  be  hoped  for  only  as  the 
result  of  worshiping  an  absolutely  pure  and  holy 
being. 

(3)  In  the  whole  range  of  pagan  religion  such  ab- 
solute holiness  of  character  in  the  object  worshiped 
is  not  to  be  found. 

(4)  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  revealed  religion, 
such  as  would  meet  the  demands  of  the  soul's  nature. 

If  it  can  be  shown-  that  these  several  points  are 
well  taken,  then  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter 
will  be  reached  when  we  have  shown  that  the  God 
of  the  Christian's  worship  is  a  God  of  infinite  purity 
of  character. 

SECTION  (l). 

Practical  religion  tends  to  the  transformation  of 
moral  character.  A  careful  survey  of  the  history  of 
nations  and  individuals  will  clearly  illustrate  this 
proposition. 

(i)  The  cultivation  of  the  intellect  does  not  of  it- 


52  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

self,  necessarily,  tend  to  the  development  of  the  no- 
blest manhood.     When  Rome  was  the  mistress  of 
the  world,  not  only  in  arms  but  in  learning  as  well, 
she  was  also  the  metropolis  of  moral  debauch.     And 
while  the  lovers  of  art  and  science  were  gathering 
within  her   walls  from    all   parts  of   the    inhabited 
earth  to  receive  an  education,  her  moral  life  became 
so  corrupt  that,  though  the  mightiest  empire  of  the 
world,  it  nevertheless  broke  down  of  its  own  rotten- 
ness.    What  is  true  of  the  nation  is  also  true  of  the 
individual.     Xerxes,  whose  very  fingers  were  drip- 
ping with  the  blood  of  the  million  slain,  and  whose 
life  of  luxury  and  debauch  brought  him  to  a  pre- 
mature   grave,  had  a  developed  intellect   of   giant 
proportions.      Alexander   the  Great   had  an  intel- 
lectual  ability  which  enabled   him  to  conquer  the 
world,  and  yet,  after   scattering   the   firebrands  of 
cruel  death  among  the  inhabitants  of  earth  for  a  few 
brief  years,  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  from 
the  effects  of  moral   corruption.     By  the  power  of 
intellect  he  had  conquered  the  outward  world,  while 
through  the  imbecility  of  his  religious  nature  he  had 
fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  baser  forces  of  the  inner 
world. 

Observation  as  well  as  history  illustrates  the  fact 
that  a  man  may  have  a  mighty  head  for  science,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  very  small  and  feeble  heart  for 
good.  The  fact  is  that  "  knowledge  is  power," — sim- 
ple power  like  wealth, — that  will  serve  as  well  in  the 
hand  of  a  monster  of  wickedness  or  a  devil  of  darkr 


ETHNIC    RELIGION.  53 

ness  as  in  the  hand  of  a  saint  of  goodness  or  an  an- 
gel of  light.  Hence,  the  more  you  put  into  a  man's 
head  while  his  heart  is  set  on  wrong,  the  mightier 
engine  you  make  of  him  for  evil.  If  a  man  has  the 
wicked  heart  to  make  and  pass  counterfeit  money, 
the  less  knowledge  he  has  the  better  it  is  for  the 
community.  It  is  philosophical  as  well  as  Biblical 
that  ''  out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of  life."  Before 
the  streams  of  human  action  can  be  made  pure,  the 
fountain  must  be  thoroughly  cleansed. 

(2)  Nor  does  material  wealth,  much  or  little,  indi- 
cate the  moral  character  of  a  nation  or  an  individual. 
The  ancient  kings,  whose  almost  boundless  riches 
and  external  glory  were  only  equaled  by  their  brut- 
ish cruelty  and  the  gratification  of  selfish  and  ani- 
mal lusts,  clearly  illustrate  this  proposition.  But  we 
need  not  go  back  to  historic  time  to  learn  that  the 
acquisition  of  earthly  riches,  so  far  from  developing 
noble  manhood,  more  frequently  tends  to  the  growth 
of  a  spirit  of  profound  selfishness,  the  very  breath  of 
which  is  stagnation  to  every  noble  impulse  of  human 
helpfulness.  This  is  a  fact  of  too  common  observa- 
tion. It  was  truthfully  said  of  a  millionaire  who 
died  not  many  years  ago,  that  while  he  was  one  of 
the  "  richest  men  ever  born  into  this  world,  he 
was  one  of  the  most  pitiful  little  souls  that  ever  went 
out  of  it."  It  is  not  riches,  but  rather  the  spirit  and 
manner  by  which  wealth  is  often  acquired,  that 
make  it  impossible  for  a  "  rich  man  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 


54  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

(3)  Nor  yet  does  the  whole  range  of  history  fur- 
nish a  single  example  where  purely  human  effort  has 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  system  of  moral  science, 
such  as  would  bring  out  the  highest  type  of  man- 
hood, recognize  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man- 
kind, and  thus  tend  to  enhance  the  interest  and 
happiness  of  the  whole  human  race.  The  best  that 
could  be  done,  by  way  of  establishing  a  system  of 
ethics  that  would  be  helpful  to  humanity,  was  ac- 
complished by  such  men  as  Solon,  Socrates,  Plato, 
Cicero,  Seneca,  and  Plutarch.  But  their  fruitless 
efforts,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  third  section  of  this 
chapter,  only  illustrate  the  absolute  necessity  of  a 
divine  revelation. 

(4)  The  objective  history  of  all  nations  clearly 
illustrates  the  fact  that  whatever  has  been  developed 
in  the  individual  or  in  society,  which  was  truly  help- 
ful to  mankind,  was  brought  out,  not  by  science, 
wealth,  or  abstract  human  effort,  but  by  the  exercise 
of  man's  religions  nature.  Not  the  renowned 
scholarship  of  the  once  famous  Egypt,  not  the  know- 
ledge of  history  and  oratory  of  which  Rome  was 
once  so  proud,  nor  yet  the  profound  material  philos- 
ophy of  ancient  Greece— not  one  of  these  influences 
nor  all  combined  gave  those  countries  their  civiliza- 
tion. The  whole  secret  of  their  success  will  be  found 
in  their  religion.  Secular  knowledge,  material  wealth, 
personal  effort,  together  with  all  else  of  instrumen- 
tality, can  be  made  available  for  good  only  when 
sanctified  by  religion.     Nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 


ETHNIC   RELIGION.  55 

will  determine  the  moral  character  of  a  nation  but 
its  religion.  The  spirit  and  life  of  a  people  can  be 
learned  only  by  ascertaining  the  spirit  and  life  of  the 
God  or  gods  they  worship. 

Ancient  Corinth,  the  "  eye  of  Greece,"  was  notori- 
ous for  its  licentiousness  and  prostitution.  And  her 
degradation  was  directly  traceable  to  the  goddess 
Venus,  who  was  the  supreme  object  of  their  wor- 
ship. The  worshiper  had  attributed  to  this  god- 
dess the  moral  character  of  a  prostitute,  and  the 
intensity  of  his  devotion  at  her  polluted  shrine  was 
the  measure  of  his  transformation  into  the  defiled 
moral  likeness  of  the  being  worshiped. 

In  contrast  with  the  degrading  worship  of  Venus, 
observe  that  of  the  goddess  Diana.  She  was  looked 
upon  and  worshiped  as  the  goddess  of  chastity. 
The  natural  and  necessary  result  of  that  religious 
devotion  was  to  transform  the  worshipers  into  her 
character  of  moral  virtue.  And  such  was  the  gulf 
that  separated  between  the  Corinthian  women  and 
those  of  Ephesus,  that  the  latter  would  not  be  found 
walking  in  the  streets  of  Corinth,  or  keeping  com- 
pany with  the  former.  Paul's  prohibition  of  the 
public  ministry  of  the  women  of  Corinth  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  their  worship  at  the  polluted 
shrine  of  Venus  had  so  degraded  their  character, 
that  until  they  had  "  brought  forth  fruits  meet  for 
repentance,"  it  would  be  in  the  interest  of  a  religion 
of  purity  for  them  to  remain  in  silence.  No  such 
prohibition  was  imposed  upon  the  women  of  Ephesus. 


56  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

The  primitive  religion  of  India,  which  prevailed 
long  before  Brahmanism  was  introduced,  has  been 
well  characterized  as  *'  devil-worship."  Two  of  the 
principal  deities  of  this  ancient  religion  are  Save  and 
Kali.  These  deities  are  supposed  to  delight  in 
nothing  so  much  as  in  highway  robbery  and  bloody 
murder.  As  a  necessity,  the  devotee  who  worships 
at  the  shrine  of  these  gods  is  transformed  into  a 
very  demon.  He  prays  to  Kali,  the  goddess  of  de- 
struction, to  assist  in  his  life  of  pillage  and  murder, 
and  his  faith  and  prayer  nerve  him  on  to  the  most 
shocking  deeds  of  bloodshed  and  destruction. 

In  this  ancient  religion  of  the  Thugs,  the  highest 
premium  of  honor  and  renown  is  given  to  the  wor- 
shiper who  succeeds  best  in  stealing,  murdering, 
and  kidnapping  children  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice  at 
the  altar  of  Kali.  And  besides  the  children,  one 
third  of  the  proceeds  of  their  plunder  they  relig- 
iously devoted  to  their  tutelary  goddess.  The  very 
ambition  to  please  a  being  of  such  supposed  mon- 
strous character  can,  in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  have 
no  other  effect  than  to  transform  the  worshiper 
into  an  incarnate  demon. 

But  why  give  illustrations  of  this  philosophic 
truth?  The  whole  history  of  heathenism  is  but  a 
book,  upon  every  page  of  which  is  written  the  truth 
that  the  worshiper  is  transformed  into  the  moral 
image  of  the  being  worshiped,  in  the  ratio  of  the 
faith  and  intensity  of  his  devotion. 

Not  only  universal   history  but  observation  and 


ETHNIC    RELIGION.  57 

experience  go  to  prove  the  truth  of  this  proposition. 
Even  in  Christendom  somewhat  different  views  are 
entertained  as  to  the  true  character  of  God.     And 
that  character,  whether  it  be  vindictive  justice  or 
loving  mercy,  will  develop  itself  in  the  character  of 
the  worshiper.     If  we  believe  that  ''God  is  love," 
and  that  he  delights  in  the  manifestation  of  love  in 
the  hearts  of  all  his  children  ;  and  if  we  earnestly 
desire   and  devoutly  pray  that  God's  will  may  be 
done  in  us,  then,  with  the  certainty  of   cause  and 
effect,  we  shall  be  transformed  into  the  divine  like- 
ness, and  soon  find  within  us  a  sympathy  and  love 
as  broad  as  our  humanity.     As  action  and  reaction 
are  equal,  not  only  in  mechanics,  but  in  spiritual  in- 
fluences as  well,  it  may  be  assumed  as  a  fact  in  mental 
philosophy  that  the  transformation  into  the  moral 
likeness  of  the  being  worshiped  is  in  exact  ratio  of 
the  faith  and  intetisity  of  the  worship.    This  principle 
of  transformation  of  moral  character  nas  been  clearly 
recognized   by   paganism.     The  expression   of   the 
priests  of  Buddhism  only  voices  the  universal  senti- 
ment of  religion  when  they  say,  "If  men  pray  to 
Buddha  and  do  not  become  Buddha,  it  is  because 
the  mouth  prays  and  not  the  mind."     So,  likewise, 
the  true  standard    of   our  Christian    piety  can   be 
measured  only  by  the  spirit  and  life  we  manifest. 
Growth  in  the  Christian  life  and  experience  are  the 
measure  of  our  faith  and  loving  worship. 


58  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

SECTION  (ll). 

Perfect  manhood  can  he  hoped  for  only  as  the  result 
of  worshiping  an  absolutely  pure  and  holy  being. 
The  truth  of  this  statement  needs  no  further  illus- 
tration than  that  which  went  to  establish  the  forego- 
ing proposition.  Implicit  faith  in  a  supreme  being 
of  absolute  holiness,  and  a  prayer  of  ardent  desire  to 
be  lifted  up  into  willing  obedience  to  that  infinite 
character,  is  the  only  known  method  by  which  rea- 
son can  hope  for  the  development  of  the  highest 
possible  manhood.  As  has  been  seen,  there  is  no 
faculty  of  the  human  mind  that  has  been  charged 
with  the  duty  of  the  moral  transformation  of  the 
soul  except  the  religious.  Love  for  a  being  of  su- 
preme excellence  inspires  an  ardent  desire  and 
prayer  to  become  alike  lovely.  The  natural  and 
necessary  reward  of  such  desire  and  prayer  is  a  con- 
tinual transformation  into  that  ideal  loveliness. 

SECTION  (ill). 
In  the  whole  range  of  pagan  religion,  such  absolute 
holiness  of  character  in  the  object  worshiped  is  not 
to  be  found.  The  voice  of  universal  religious  history 
proclaims  the  truth  of  this  proposition.  A  careful 
survey  of  all  the  prominent  religions  of  the  world, 
past  and  present,  will  clearly  show  that,  while  each 
religion  had  objects  of  worship  having  some  trait  or 
traits  of  moral  character  the  tendency  of  which  was 
to  elevate  and  civilize  the  worshiper,  there  were  yet 


ETHNIC   RELIGION.  59 

other  traits  of  character  attributed  to  those  deities 
which  made  it  impossible  for  the  soul  to  reach  the 
heights  of  possibility  for  which  it  was  created. 

(i)  Brahmanism,  the  religion  of  India,  whose  pop- 
ulation is  between  two  and  three  hundred  millions, 
has  been  largely  helpful  for  two  reasons.  First,  the 
Brahmanic  system  of  moral  science  was  in  many 
respects  most  commendable.  It  recognized  the  fact, 
which  even  Christians  have  sometimes  failed  to  com- 
prehend, that  sin  wrongs  the  soul.  That  system 
laid  truth  at  the  foundation  of  all  good  works.  It 
declared  :  "  The  fruit  of  every  virtuous  act  which 
thou  hast  done,  O  man,  since  thy  birth,  shall  depart 
from  thee  to  the  dogs  if  thou  deviate  from  the 
truth."  And  again :  "  The  soul  is  its  own  witness, 
the  soul  itself  is  its  own  refuge :  offend  not  thy 
conscious  soul,  the  supreme  internal  witness  of 
men."  It  recognized  the  sacred  relation  that  ex- 
isted between  parents  and  children,  and  the  high 
obligations  that  grew  out  of  that  relation.  The 
Brahmanical  law  required  devotion  without  ostenta- 
tion, and  benevolence  without  proclamation.  '*  Let 
no  man  be  proud  of  his  rigorous  devotion  ;  let  him 
not,  having  sacrificed,  utter  falsehood  ;  having  made 
a  donation,  let  him  never  proclaim  it.  By  falsehood 
the  sacrifice  becomes  vain ;  by  pride  the  merit  of 
devotion  is  lost ;  and  by  proclaiming  a  present  its 
fruit  is  destroyed."  It  also  clearly  recognized  the 
individual  responsibility  of  each  man,  where  it  said : 
•*  In   his   passage   to   the   next   world,   neither  his 


6o  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

father,  nor  his  mother,  nor  his  wife,  nor  his  son,  nor 
his  kinsman  will  remain  his  company:  his  virtue 
alone  will  adhere  to  him.  Single  is  each  man  born  ; 
single  he  dies ;  single  he  receives  the  reward  of  his 
good,  and  single  the  punishment  of  his  evil,  deeds." 
JThe  excellence  of  this  moral  code  reaches  its  climax 
in  requiring  an  entire  submission  to  Divine  Provi- 
dence. *  *'  Let  him  [the  Brahman]  not  wish  for  death. 
Let  him  not  wish  for  life.  Let  him  expect  his  ap- 
pointed time  as  the  hired  servant  expects  his  wages. 
Meditating  on  the  Supreme  Spirit,  without  any- 
earthly  desire,  with  no  companion  but  his  own  soul, 
let  him  live  in  this  world  seeking  the  bliss  of  the 
next." 

The  second  helpful  influence  of  the  Brahmanic 
religion  is  that  the  worshiper  stands  in  awe  before 
the  throne  of  the  great  Spirit-Universe.  His  piety 
toward  this  ever-present  pantheistic  power  is  worthy 
of  Christian  imitation.  But  while  his  devotion  is  to 
be  commended,  the  fact  that  the  object  of  his  worship 
is  materialistic  and  void  of  moral  character  is  a  thino- 
to  be  commiserated.  And  it  is  just  at  this  point 
that  the  whole  system  breaks  down.  While  their 
code  of  morals  in  many  respects  is  commendable  and 
their  devotion  worthy  of  imitation,  yet,  having  no 
personal  Supreme  Being  before  the  mind  whose  very 
presence  tends  to  fill  the  soul  with  the  spirit  of  filial 
fear  and  loving  obedience,  there  is  not  a  sufficient 
incentive  to  enable  the  worshiper  to  carry  out  the  sys- 
tem of  morals  which  has  been  so  divinely  arranged. 


ETHNIC    RELIGION.  6l 

A  rule  of  life  may  be  given  to  the  household  which 
may  be  eminently  adapted  in  all  its  details  to  the 
training  of  the  children  into  nobility  of  character; 
and  yet,  if  there  be  no  parents  in  the  presence  of 
those  children  who  are  to  be  feared  and  loved,  theh 
there  is  not  a  sufficient  incentive  to  lead  them  to 
such  loving  obedience  as  will  bring  out  any  such 
nobleness.  The  Brahman's  thought  of  power  fills 
him  with  reverence,  while  his  thought  of  moral 
character  leaves  him  in  comparative  moral  depravity. 

(2)  Ancient  Greece  reached  her  zenith  of  glory 
under  the  inspiration  of  feehng  after  *' The  Unknown 
God."  In  that  inscription  they  recognized  the  ex- 
istence of  a  Supreme  Being,  but  confessed  their  ig- 
norance of  his  true  character.  The  marvelous  ser- 
mon on  Mars  Hill  delivered  by  the  great  Apostle 
had  only  the  object  indicated  in  the  expression, 
"  Him  declare  I  unto  you."  That  the  human  soul 
was  of  noble  birth  was  a  thought  which  the  Grecian 
mind  had  fully  grasped.  But  while  the  native  pow- 
ers of  the  soul  were  to  theni  sublime,  they  utterly 
failed  to  attribute  any  such  supreme  nobleness  of 
character  to  the  gods  they  worshiped.  The  secret 
of  their  semi-religious  power  was  clearly  indicated 
in  that  inscription  on  the  temple  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi,  Frc^ds  aeavroi' — ''  Know  thyself."  Their 
religion  on  the  one  hand  was  almost  half-right,  in 
that  it  recognized  the  native  nobleness  of  the  human 
soul  and  the  necessity  of  developing  its  hidden 
powers,  but  on  the    other   hand,  it  was   more  than 


62  .         REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

half-wrong  in  failing  to  recognize  a  vastly  superior 
nobleness  of  character  in  the  God  whom  they  ig- 
norantly  worshiped. 

The  human  side  of  their  religion  w^as  wonderfully 
helpful.  Their  exalted  views  of  the  native  dignity 
of  the  soul  gave  them  comparatively  exalted  notions 
of  the  deity.  But  their  whole  system  of  idolatrous 
worship,  as  well  as  the  prayers  of  their  greatest 
philosophers,  show  that  they  had  no  clearly  defined 
views  of  a  Being  of  omniscience,  omnipotence,  and 
absolute  holiness  of  character.  Socrates  prays, 
"  Father  Jupiter,  give  us  all  good,  whether  we  ask  it 
or  not  ;  and  avert  from  us  all  evil,  though  we  do 
not  pray  thee  so  to  do.  Bless  all  our  good  actions, 
and  reward  them  with  success  and  happiness." 
While  this  prayer  clearly  shows  that  this  great 
philosopher  was  earnestly  seeking  after  God,  his 
daily  custom  of  sacrificing  and  praying  at  the  altars 
of  his  country's  gods  equally  illustrates  a  most  sick- 
ening failure  to  find  him.  And  if  he  and  a  few  of 
his  disciples,  such  as  Alcibiades,  Crito,  Xenophon, 
and  Plato,  have  challenged  the  admiration  of  all 
good  men,  when  they  had  nothing  but  the  feeble 
light  of  the  soul's  nature,  as  reflected  by  the  Infinite, 
we  can  scarcely  imagine  what  superlatively  grand 
men  they  would  have  been,  if  only  they  had  been 
blessed  with  the  light  of  the  full-orbed  Sun. 

(3)  Buddhism  has  existed  for  about  2500  years. 
It  is  the  prevailing  religion  of  China,  Central  and 
Eastern  Asia,  Swedish  Lapland,  and  parts  of  India. 


ETHNIC    RELIGION.  65 

The  number  of  its  votaries  is  estimated  at  not  less 
than  450,000,000 — more  than  one  third  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  globe.  In  point  of  numbers  it  is 
the  prevailing  religion  of  the  world.  Its  canon  of 
sacred  books,  too,  is  well  defined.  These  religious 
records  set  forth  a  system  of  ethics  which  is  eminently 
worthy  of  a  higher  type  of  manhood  than  has  ever 
been  developed  in  the  masses  of  its  subjects. 

Buddhism  has  its  Decalogue  of  commandments, 
the  first  five  of  which  are  (i)  not  to  kill,  (2)  not  to 
steal,  (3)  not  to  commit  adultery,  (4)  not  to  lie,  (5) 
not  to  be  drunken.  These  are  for  the  common  peo- 
ple, while  the  other  five  are  for  those  who  propose 
to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  a  higher  life.  This 
outline  of  the  practical  part  of  their  religion  shows 
it  to  be  purely  one-sided.  The  entire  decalogue  of 
commandments  is  but  a  system  of  negations,  which 
is  well  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  very  one-sided.  It 
asks  for  no  love.  Indeed  there  is  nothing  to 
love.  The  only  god  in  the  mind  of  the  devotee  is 
the  stern  and  inflexible  Soul-of-the-Universe.  This 
pantheistic  god  is  full  of  vengeance,  but  has  no 
sympathy,  and  is  so  entirely  indifferent  as  to  the 
race  of  mankind  that  rewards  and  punishments  are 
left  to  the  stern  necessities  of  an  inflexible  law. 

The  first  article  of  the  Buddhist's  faith  is  the 
transmigration  of  the  soul  from  one  animal  to  an- 
other. The  second  article  is,  that  the  question  of 
the  soul  passing  into  a  lower  or  a  higher  order  of 
animal  at  death  is  determined  by  the  life  of  the  in- 


64  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

dividual.     Hence  their  life   is  spent  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  slavish  fear.     Their  only  inspiration  to 
a  life  of  virtue  is  in  the  hope  that  a  life  of  self-ab- 
negation and  an  utter  indifference  to  suffering  will 
by  some  unknown  providence  give  them  promotion. 
Hence,  ''  they  torture  themselves  with  self-inflicted 
torments ;  for  the  body  is  the   great  enemy  of  the 
soul's   salvation,  and    they  must   beat    it    down    by 
ascetic  mortifications.     But  asceticism,  here  as  every- 
where else,  tends  to  self-indulgence,  since  one  ex- 
treme   produces   another.     In    one    part    of    India, 
therefore,  devotees  are  swinging  on  hooks  in  honor 
of  Siva,  hanging  themselves  by  the  feet  head  down- 
wards over  a  fire,  rolling  on  a  bed  of  prickly  thorns, 
jumping  on  a  bed  filled  with  sharp  knives,  boring 
holes  in  their  tongues,  and  sticking  their  bodies  full 
of  pins  and  needles,  or  perhaps  holding  their  arms 
over  their  heads  until  they  stiffen  in  that   position. 
Meantime  in  other  places  whole  regions  are   given 
over    to    sensual    indulgences,    and    companies   of 
abandoned   women    are    connected    with    different 
temples  and  consecrate   their  gains  to  the  support 
of  their  worship."     Thus  they  imagine  that  by  mak- 
ing this  life  wretched  in  the  extremethey  will  escape 
a  worse    punishment  in   the   life   to   come.     Such  a 
system  of  religion  as  this  the  enlightened  mind  in- 
stinctively declares  to    be  a  most  shocking  outrage 
upon  humanity,     And  yet  it  has  in  it  much  of  truth, 
— truth,  however,   that    appeals    only   to  fear,    the 
baser  part    of  man's    nature.     And  while  it  can  be 


ETHNIC    RELIGION.  65 

easily  shown  to  be  better  than  no  reh'gion  at  all,  it 
lacks  that  fundamental  truth  by  which  it  could  make 
progress  and  become  a  religion  to  unify  all  nations 
and  inspire  within  the  soul  an  assurance  of  the  life 
that  now  is  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come. 

Buddhism  has  proved  itself  to  be  comparative 
stagnation,  and  that  for  the  obvious  reason  that  it 
has  not  the  slightest  conception  of  the  existence  of 
a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  holiness  of 
character,  who  appeals  to  man's  love  as  the  most 
potent  power  of  the  human  soul.  As  a  fact  of 
experience,  no  life  can  be  a  grand  success  but  that 
which  flows  out  from  a  heart  of  love.  If  man  has 
before  him  a  Being  of  infinite  perfections  and  pre- 
eminently worthy  of  the  soul's  supreme  affections, 
then  will  service  be  a  profound  pleasure  and  life  a 
grand  success.  But  in  the  absence  of  any  such  in- 
spiring faith,  the  Celestial  Empire  is  to-day  where  it 
was  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago.  "  Brahmanism 
devoted  itself  to  meditation  upon  the  infinite  and 
the  eternal :  Buddhism  considered  only  the  finite  and 
the  temporal,  particularly  the  soul  and  its  laws." 

(4)  The  religion  of  Confucius  is  superior  to  that  of 
Buddhism  only  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  step  in  advance. 
It  encourages  great  reverence  for  the  past,  and  im- 
poses the  duty  of  giving  great  honor  to  parents. 
Like  the  religion  of  Greece,  it  takes  a  more  exalted 
view  of  the  native  dignity  of  the  soul,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  seeking  to  bring  out  its  hidden  possibilities. 
In  the  mind  of -Confucius  this  life  was  everything, 
5 


66  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

while  that  which  is  to  come  was  comparatively 
nothing.  He  had  great  faith  in  man,  but  no  corre- 
sponding faith  in  God.  His  life-struggle  to  develop 
a  noble  manhood  was  eminently  worthy  of  imita- 
tion. And  the  influence  of  his  example  and  teach- 
ing has  lifted  China  into  a  better  civilization,  and 
has  thus  somewhat  prepared  it  for  the  coming  of 
a  religion  which  meets  the  needs  of  every  native 
power  of  the  soul. 

But,  like  Buddhism,  the  religion  of  Confucius 
lacked  the  one  great  fundamental  truth  without 
which  the  highest  form  of  civilization  can  never  be 
reached.  It  largely  comprehended  the  nature  of 
the  soul  and  the  necessity  of  obeying  its  laws ;  but 
of  the  counterpart  of  that  soul,  and  of  the  highest 
law  of  its  being,  it  was  utterly  ignorant.  It  recog- 
nized man's  power  to  love,  but  it  presented  to  him 
no  Supreme  Being  who  was  worthy  of  the  soul's 
highest  affection.  Love  is  the  ennobling  power  of 
the  soul,  and  the  child  of  eternity.  But  a  religion 
that  chains  it  to  time  and  things  of  time,  and  has 
no  food  to  offer  but  that  which  this  material  world 
has  to  give,  will  exist,  if  at  all,  only  to  give  place 
sooner  or  later  to  a  religion  that  will  meet  all  the 
necessities  of  the  soul  in  its  aspirations  after  God 
and  immortality. 

In  looking  back  through  the  history  of  the  human 
race,  we  shall  observe  different  forms  of  belief 
almost  ad  infinitinn,  and  yet  all  these  forms  can  be 
classed  under  two  heads,  viz.,  Monotheism  (a  belief 


ETHNIC   RELIGION.  6^ 

in  one  God),  and  Polytheism  (a  belief  in  many  gods). 
Of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  there  are 
about  500  millions  of  Monotheists,  of  whom  about 
130  millions  are  Mohammedans,  over  eight  millions 
are  Jews,  and  about  365  millions  are  Christians — 
including  Catholics  about  190  millions,  Greek  Church 
a  little  less  than  75  milUons,  and  Protestants  over 
100  millions.  Of  Polytheists  there  are  not  less  than 
600  miUions  now  living  on  the  earth.  Of  this  vast 
number  Buddhism  is  the  religion  of  over  470  mil- 
lions, Brahmanism  numbers  not  less  than  130  mil- 
lions, and  the  Parsees  about  one  million. 

In  this  classification  the  religion  of  Confucius  is 
reckoned  with  that  of  Buddha.     Besides  these,  there 
are  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  scattered  over  Africa, 
America,  and  other  parts  of  the  globe,  not  less  than 
180  millions  whose  faith  does  not  arise  to  the  dignity 
of  Polytheism,  and  whose  life  is  even  more  degraded. 
We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  because  they 
have  not   the   "gods    many"   of   Polytheism,   they 
have  therefore   no  religion.     Their   superstition    is 
founded  in   a  belief  that  a  kind  of  magical  power 
inheres  in  certain  stones,  plants,  animals,  etc.    Their 
religion    is  termed  Fetichism.     The     fetich  is  any- 
thing  in  which  such  magic  power  inheres.     Those 
best  informed  as  to  this  lower  form  of  religion  which 
is  believed  and  practiced  only  by  the  most  degraded 
tribes   of    earth,  tell   us  that  the  first  step  out  of 
Fetichism  is  when  ignorant  tribes  cease  to  be  satis- 
fied with  believing  merely  in    the    magical   power 


68  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

inherent  in  their  fetiches,  and  begin  to  ascribe  a 
certain  conscious  operation  to  the  objects  of  their 
reverence,  especially  to  the  fetiches  in  the  form  of 
beast  or  man.  In  this  way  the  fetich  becomes  an 
idol,  and  fetichism  an  idolatry.  The  lowest  form  of 
such  idolatry  is  where  the  savage  does  not  hesitate 
to  throw  away,  to  chastise,  or  even  destroy  his 
fetich,  if  it  does  not  appear  to  gratify  his  desire. 

What  has  been  said  with  reference  to  tlie  various  re- 
ligions of  modern  paganism  may  with  even  more  pro- 
priety be  said  of  all  the  religions  of  antiquity.  Rome 
in  her  best  days,  while  she  had  over  four  hundred 
temples  crowded  with  pagan  deities,  was  nevertheless 
living  "  without  hope  and  without  God."  Hence 
her  three  million  souls,  who  had  given  to  their  deities 
only  such  moral  character  as  was  suggested  by  their 
own  depraved  nature,  were,  by  their  worship,  trans- 
formed more  and  more  into  the  image  of  these  mon- 
sters, until  at  last  the  body-politic  gave  way  under 
the  intolerable  weight  of  its  own  corruption,  and 
Rome  had  fallen  to  rise  no  more. 

Egypt,  once  the  pride  of  earth  and  the  glory  of 
the  seas,  knew  much  of  art,  science,  history,  mathe- 
matics, and  philosophy ;  but,  having  no  knowledge 
of  a  supreme  Intelligence  of  absolute  holiness,  was 
led  to  the  worship  of  beasts.  Hence  it  has  been 
said  of  the  Egyptians  that  bestiality,  the  lowest 
vice  to  which  human  nature  can  descend,  was  com- 
mon amongst  them.  The  paintings  and  sculpture 
of  their  divinities,  in  the  mummy  catacombs,  are  for 


ETHNIC   RELIGION.  69 

the  most  part  clusters  of  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  and 
flies,  grouped  together  in  the  most  disgusting  and 
unnatural  relations  :  a  true  indication  that  the  minds 
of  the  worshipers  were  filled  with  ideas  the  most 
vile  and  unnatural.  With  thirty  thousand  gods, 
possessing  only  such  character  as  depravity  had  to 
give  them,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  the  glory  of 
Egypt  is  a  thing  of  the  past. 

But  certainly  enough  has  been  said  to  impress  the 
reader  with  the  fact  that,  in  the  whole  survey  of 
heathen  religions,  there  is  not  a  single  instance  in 
which  human  wisdom  attained  to  the  knowledge  of  a 
god  of  absolute  holiness  of  character.  All  have 
sought  after  God,  and  even  the  most  degraded  have 
had  some  faint  conceptions  of  him.  This  whole 
history  of  religion  would  seem  to  be  a  sure  prophecy 
of  a  forthcoming  revelation. 

SECTION  (IV). 

Hence  the  necessity  of  a  revealed  religion,  such  as 
would  meet  the  demands  of  the  souTs  nature.  If  the 
moral  character  of  a  nation  or  an  individual  depends 
wholly  upon  practical  religion,  and  if  the  soul's 
higliest  possibilities  can  be  reached  only  by  wor- 
shiping a  being  of  absolute  perfection  ;  if,  further, 
the  whole  history  of  pagan  religions  presents  to  us 
no  such  perfect  moral  character;  and  if,  finally,  a 
revelation  of  the  true  character  of  God  seems  from 
the  foregoing  to  be  a  necessity,  the  question  of  in- 
finite moment  is,  Has  such  a  revelation  been  made  ? 
This  question  we  proceed  to  consider. 


70  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHRISTIAN   RELIGION. 

(i)  The  soul  is  governed  by  fixed  and  unalterable  law. — (2)  Man's 
highest  good  depends  upon  his  knowledge  and  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  his  being. — (3)  Christianity  has  made  known  to  man 
these  laws  of  his  moral  and  spiritual  nature,  as  they  are  made 
known  nowhere  else. 

The  Christian  religion  rests  upon  a  twofold  foun- 
dation :  viz.,  first,  its  manifest  miracles,  and,  secondly, 
its  perfect  adaptedness  to  the  nature  and  necessities 
of  the  human  soul.  The  first  are  facts  of  observation, 
the  second  is  a  fact  of  experience.  In  establishing 
this  religion  the  touchstone  of  its  divinity  was  its 
miraculous  nature.  Christ  might  have  spoken  as 
man  never  spoke,  he  might  have  done  all  that  he 
is  said  to  have  done,  he  might  have  died  and  been 
buried  as  we  are  told,  and  yet,  but  for  the  miracle  of 
his  resurrection,  Peter's  preaching  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  would  have  been  entirely  fruitless  of  re- 
sults. There  would  never  have  been  a  first  Jerusa- 
lem church,  nor  can  we  reasonably  suppose  that 
there  would  ever  have  been  any  other.  It  is  this 
part  of  the  foundation  against  which  infidelity  has 
been  hurling  its  missiles  during  the  ages.  But  now, 
at  the  end  of  near  two  thousand  years,  the  "  foun- 
dation standeth  sure." 


CHRISTIAN   REI-IGION.  7I 

The  question  of  miracles,  however,  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  another  part  of  this  work :  under  this  sec- 
tion we  wish  only  to  ask  attention  to  the  subjective 
evidence  of  the  divinity  of  the  Christian  religion. 
While  the  miracles  of  this  religion  may  be  regarded 
as  first  in  the  order  of  proof,  they  are  not  first  in  im- 
portance. Were  it  possible  now,  after  the  test  which 
the  experience  of  ages  has  given  it,  to  remove  this 
part  of  the  foundation,  it  would  still  be  seen  that 
Christianity  rests  upon  a  base  firmer  than  adaman- 
tine rock :  it  lives  in  the  Jiearts  of  the  wisest  and 
best  men  of  the  earth. 

The  senses  may  be  the  only  avenues  by  which  the 
mind  can  reach  the  outer  world ;  but  if  the  percep- 
tion of  the  objective  material  be  once  had,  then  the 
mind  may  dispense  with  the  senses,  and  still  not 
only  retain  truth,  but  even,  by  constructive  imagina- 
tion, may  discover  jiew  and  more  important  truth. 
So  likewise  the  objective  testimony  of  Christianity 
may  first  challenge  our  faith,  but  when  the  evidence 
of  experience  has  come  observation  may  cease,  and 
yet  the  faith  grow  stronger  and  stronger  by  the 
subjective  testimony  of  a  blessed  experience.  This 
truth  will  be  clearly  illustrated  if  the  following  prop- 
ositions can  be  maintained : 

(i)  The  soul  is  governed  by  fixed  and  unalterable 
law. 

(2)  Man's  highest  good  depends  upon  his  knowl- 
edge and  obedience  to  the  laws  of  his  being. 

(3)  Christianity  has  made  known  to  man  these 


72  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

laws  of  his  moral  and  spiritual  nature,  as  they  are 
made  known  nowhere  else. 

Were  it  possible  to  disprove  all  the  external  evi- 
dences of  Christianity  and  even  the  remaining  part 
of  the  internal,  yet,  if  the  foregoing  propositions  be 
established,  the  question  of  divinity  of  origin  is  set- 
tled once  for  all.  It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  ex- 
amine them  severally  with  the  utmost  care. 

(i)  That  man  has  been  created,  body  and  soul, 
subject  to  fixed  laws  is  a  fact  which  the  intelligent 
will  not  deny.  Experience,  if  nothing  else,  has 
taught  us  that  the  thinking,  the  speaking,  and  the 
doing  of  certain  things  bring  reflections  of  reproach 
and  mental  unrest  with  the  certainty  of  cause  and 
effect ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  thinking,  saying, 
and  doing  of  certain  other  things  are  equally  certain 
to  produce  a  healthy,  strong,  and  happy  state  of 
mind.  As  certainly  as  when  the  body  takes  a  given 
portion  of  poison  there  come  sickness  and  pain,  so 
certainly  when  the  soul  violates  its  sense  of  right 
there  come  remorse,  mental  weakness,  and  discon- 
tent. *^  There  is  no  peace  unto  the  wicked  "  is  a 
fact  not  of  the  Bible  only,  but  of  bitter  experience 
as  well.  On  the  other  hand,  as  surely  as  food  of  a 
given  kind  and  quantity  will  impart  to  the  physical 
organism  a  glow  of  life  and  strength,  so  surely  will 
the  spiritual  nature  be  made  stronger  and  happier 
by  observing  its  sense  of  right. 

(2)  These  personal  experiences  as  well  as  observa- 
tion have  fully  convinced  every  thoughtful  mind  of 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  73 

the  important  fact,  tJiat  God  has  made  the  soul's  high- 
est good  dependent  upon  its  obedience  to  both  negative 
and  positive  law.  And  to  know  what  these  laws  are, 
and  to  obey  them,  is  to  know  all  that  is  necessary  to 
know,  and  to  do  all  that  is  necessary  to  do.  Any 
revelation,  therefore,  which  helps  man  to  understand 
what  these  laws  are  is  of  God ;  and  any  religion 
which  tends  to  bring  him  into  harmony  with  the 
administration  of  these  laws  is  of  divine  origin. 
Man  is  lost  only  for  the  reason  that  he  has 
put  himself  out  of  harmony  with  the  laws  of  his  be- 
ing. Salvation  means  nothing  less,  it  can  mean 
nothing  more,  than  the  bringing  of  man  back  into 
loving  obedience  to  the  divinely  established  laws  of 
his  nature.  It  is  not  enough  then  to  have  only 
objective  testimony  in  favor  of  the  divine  origin  of 
a  given  religion  :  there  must  be  the  subjective  evi- 
dence of  a  blessed  experience  going  to  show  that 
what  claims  to  be  revelation  does  not  contradict, 
but  is  the  counterpart  of  the  native  laws  of  the  soul. 
There  can  be  no  real  contradiction  between  the 
science  of  the  mind  and  that  of  revelation. 

Religion  must  stand  or  fall,  not  at  the  bar  of  a  cold 
intellect,  which  deals  with  nothing  and  can  under- 
stand nothing  but  the  abstract  facts  of  observation  ; 
but  the  best  evidence  of  its  divinity  must  be  found 
in  the  subjective  test  of  the  soul's  experience.  Not 
by  external  theorizing  but  by  internal  knowledge 
we  have  learned  that  faith,  hope,  and  love  are  as 
essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  soul    as  are  air, 


74  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

food,  and  exercise  to  the  body.  Man's  richest  ex- 
perience has  taught  him  that  the  mind  is  in  its  nor- 
mal and  most  happy  condition  when  by  faith  it 
takes  hold  of  its  Creator  as  a  benevolent  Father, 
has  a  well-grounded  hope  for  time  and  eternity,  and 
has  learned  to  love  truth,  honesty,  gentleness,  and 
Supreme  Excellence.  As  certainly  as  that  the  fish 
was  made  to  swim,  the  birds  to  fly,  the  eye  to  see, 
and  the  ear  to  hear,  so  certainly  was  the  soul  orga- 
nized for  such  faith,  hope,  and  love.  Give  it  these, 
and  it  can  think  well,  speak  well,  act  well ;  and  only 
under  the  inspiration  of  these  graces  which  meet  the 
necessities  of  its  nature,  can  the  soul  achieve  its 
greatest  victory  and  reach  the  highest  altitude  of 
possibility. 

This  one  fact  of  man's  most  sublime  experience 
must  forever  disprove  the  popular  doctrine  of  the 
soul's  native  total  depravity.  If  such  were  its  na- 
ture, its  highest  attainments  and  greatest  enjoyment 
would  be  realized  in  revelry  and  debauch.  If  the  soul's 
nature  be  unmixed  sin,  unmixed  wickedness  must  be 
its  native  element.  But  experience  and  observation 
have  taught  us  that  the  nature  of  the  soul  is  one 
thing,  while  that  of  sin  is  the  exact  opposite.  The 
very  constitution  of  the  one  and  the  character  of 
the  other  place  them  in  open  antagonism.  And  in 
this  mortal  combat  one  or  the  other  must  die. 
*'  The  wages  of  sin  is  death"  is  as  experimentally  as 
it  is  biblically  true.  Experience  has  taught  nothing 
more  absolutely  certain  than  that  righteousness  is 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  75 

the  normal  condition  of  the  soul.  Remove  it  from 
this  its  native  element  and  envelop  it  in  wickedness, 
and  as  certainly  as  effect  follows  cause  will  its  in- 
stinctive endowments  be  destroyed. 

Take  the  fish  from  the  water  and  place  it  in  the 
open  air,  and  its  destruction  is  inevitable.  Remove 
the  bird  from  the  open  atmosphere  and  plunge  it 
beneath  the  water,  and  death  is  certain.  We  have 
no  method  of  determining  their  intrinsic  nature  but 
by  ascertaining  the  conditions  upon  which  they  live 
and  enjoy.  So  likewise  we  can  only  know  the  in- 
herent constitution  of  the  soul  by  determining  the 
condition  of  its  life,  health,  strength,  and  highest 
happiness.  Analogy,  philosophy,  sense,  reason,  and 
revelation  all  join  with  united  voice  to  proclaim  the 
precious  truth  of  the  soul's  native  kinship  to  God. 
There  is  no  congruity  between  the  exalted  nature 
of  the  soul  and  the  baseness  of  sin. 

We  emphasize  the  fact  that  if  the  soiiVs  nature  be 
that  of  "■  total  depravity^'  then  its  native  element  is 
sift.  But  that  such  supposition  is  a  moral  absurdity 
is  clearly  seen  in  the  conceded  fact  that  sin  wrongs 
the  soul,  and  if  persisted  in  must  inevitably  be  its 
destruction.  The  nature  of  the  human  soul  has  been 
wofully  belittled  and  slandered  by  a  popular  theory 
which  flatly  contradicts  the  facts  of  mental  experi- 
ence. That  there  is  "depravity"  none  will  deny; 
but  that  it  is  "  total  "  is  a  conclusion  devoid  of  sound 
reason. 

Notwithstanding  the  soul's  tendencies  to  evil,  the 


'jd  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

subjective  test  of  experience  has  clearly  shown  that 
it  reaches  its  highest  achievements  through  the  in- 
fluence of  its  faith  in  a  Creator  of  fatherly  benevo- 
lence, a  well-grounded  hope  for  time  and  eternity, 
and  a  love  for  truth,  honesty,  gentleness,  and  Su-' 
preme  Excellence.  That  such  faith  and  love  are 
but  the  counterpart  of  the  soul's  nature  and  neces- 
sities is  clearly  evinced  in  the  fact  that  man  thinks 
best,  speaks  best,  and  acts  best,  to  himself  and  to 
his  kind,  while  most  under  the  influence  of  these 
graces.  Show  us  the  grandest  man  the  world  ever 
saw,  and  we  will  point  you  to  the  man  who  lives 
most  in  the  heavenly  atmosphere  of  faith,  hope, 
and  love.  Any  revelation  therefore  which  shall  in 
any  wise  make  known  these  native  laws  of  the  soul 
is  of  God  ;  and  any  religion  the  natural  tendency  of 
which  is  to  bring  man  into  joyous  harmony  with 
the  divine  administration  of  these  laws  must  be  of 
divine  origin. 

(3)  Christianity  has  made  known  to  man  these  laws 
of  his  moral  nature  as  they  are  made  known  nowhere 
else.  These  three  steps  of  logic  will  present  the 
skeptic  with  a  short  method  by  which  he  may  be 
relieved  of  his  intolerable  burden  of  doubt.  We 
admire  the  great  labor  of  such  men  as  the  Hon. 
Robert  Boyle,  who,  finding  himself  in  the  dark  and 
cheerless  region  of  skepticism,  determined  to  have 
lio-ht  if  li^iht  was  to  be  found.  Being  a  man  of  pro- 
found  learning,  he  is  said  to  have  translated  fifty 
different  languages  that  he  might  examine  the  evi- 


CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  JJ 

dences  for  and  against  the  divinity  of  the  reh'gion 
of  Christ.  After  much  prayer  and  great  study,  he 
emerged  from  that  gloomy  and  dejected  region  of 
doubt  into  the  bright  sunHght  of  Gospel  truth,  and 
came  to  be  a  mighty  man  for  God  and  humanity. 
Many  have  been  brought  to  see  the  truth  of  that 
divine  expression,"  I  am  the  light  of  the  world,"  all 
the  more  clearly  by  first  looking  out  into  the  dark- 
ness of  infidelity.  They  "  met  the  specter  of  their 
doubts,  and  laid  them." 

{a)  Infidelity  is  largely  a  system  of  negations  and 
co7itradictions.  While  it  proposes  to  undermine 
the  temple  of  the  world's  faith  and  hope,  it  offers 
nothing  as  a  substitute  but  confusion  and  despair. 
Hume  of  England,  noted  for  his  clearness  as  a  his- 
torian and  his  bewilderment  as  a  philosopher  and 
skeptic,  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  seem  affrighted 
and  confounded  with  the  solitude  in  which  I  am 
placed  by  my  philosophy.  When  I  look  abroad  I 
see  on  every  side  dispute,  contradiction,  and  distrac- 
tion. When  I  turn  my  eye  inward,  I  find  nothing 
but  doubt  and  ignorance.  Where  am  I  ?  or  what 
am  I  ?  From  what  cause  do  I  derive  my  existence? 
I  am  confounded  with  questions.  I  begin  to  fancy 
myself  in  a  very  deplorable  condition,  environed 
with  darkness  on  every  side."  Having  advocated  a 
negative  philosophy  which  sought  the  destruction 
of  all  religion,  the  great  skeptic  was  left  in  the  piti- 
able condition  of  living  a  life  of  death,  in  that  he 
was  "without  hope  and  without  God." 


7^  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

The  positive  side  of  Voltaire,  if  he  had  any,  was 
never  able  to  assert  itself.  In  his  great  life-work 
nothing  but  the  angel  of  destruction  put  in  an  ap- 
pearance. Having  sown  the  wind  he  was  doomed 
to  reap  the  whirlwind,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  re- 
ported words,  ''The  world  abounds  with  wonders, 
also  with  victims.  In  man  is  more  wretchedness 
than  in  all  other  animals  put  together.  Man  loves 
life,  yet  he  knows  he  must  die:  spends  his  existence 
in  diffusing  the  miseries  he  has  suffered,  cutting  the 
throats  of  his  fellow-creatures  for  pay,  cheating  and 
being  cheated.  The  bulk  of  mankind  are  nothing 
more  than  a  crowd  of  wretches,  equally  criminal, 
equally  unfortunate.  I  wish  I  had  never  been  born." 
Having  deprived  the  soul  of  its  native  heirship  to 
the  arm  of  faith,  the  anchor  of  hope,  and  the  life  of 
love,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  in  the  agony  of  his  de- 
spair he  exclaimed,"  I  wish  I  had  never  been  born." 

Infidelity  is  not  only  a  system  of  negations,  but  it 
is  full  of  contradictions.  A  careful  study  of  deism 
from  its  beginning  until  now  will  show  that  the 
arguments  of  one  deist  have  been  contradicted  by 
those  of  another.  While  Celsus,  the  first  infidel 
writer,  granted  that  Christ  possessed  miraculous 
power  and  that  it  was  imbecile  to  deny  it,  Hume, 
in  his  arguments  against  miracles,  declares  that  to 
grant  the  miraculous  power  of  Christ  and  then  deny 
his  divinity  is  a  conclusion  devoid  of  all  reason. 
In  Germany,  the  hot-bed  of  infidelity,  Hegelianism 
has  been  the  prototype  of  many  schools  and  theo- 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  79 

ries  of  antagonism.  The  skepticism  of  one  school 
has  been  successfully  contradicted  by  that  of 
another.  So  that  Christianity  can  well  afford  to 
leave  them  to  settle  their  own  disputes,  in  the  hope 
that  Germany  will  yet  come  to  herself.  Nor  have 
the  infidels  of  England  and  France  been  any  more 
successful  in  uniting  upon  a  common  ground  of 
attack.  They  seem  to  be  at  sea  without  rudder  or 
compass  or  chart,  with  but  little  ballast  and  an  im- 
mense amount  of  sail.  Such  an  incongruous  theory 
of  negations  and  contradictions  may  well  be  left  to 
the  methods  of  its  own  destruction. 

{b)  In  fide  lit}'  as  an  apology  for  a  bad  life.  Men 
not  only  become  "  wise  above  what  is  written,"  but 
they  often  desire  a  liberty  of  life  which  Christianity 
will  not  allow.  "I  came  not  to  send  peace  but  a 
sword,"  said  the  divine  Lawgiver.  His  mission  was 
to  array  truth,  righteousness,  virtue,  and  benevo- 
lence against  falsehood,  wickedness,  libertinism,  and 
selfishness.  This  spiritual  war  is  the  "  irrepressible 
conflict,"  which  shall  know  no  peace  until  Christ's 
kingdom  of  righteousness  shall  celebrate  its  own 
glorious  victory  in  the  world's  grand  jubilee  of  re- 
demption. As  the  conditions  of  peace  on  the 
divine  side  are  '*  unconditional  surrender,"  the  hu- 
man side,  desiring  a  liberty  of  life  which  Christianity 
will  not  grant,  finds  it  necessary  to  renounce  the 
religion  of  Christ.  As  light  comes  to  dissipate 
darkness  and  asks  no  pardon  for  its  coming,  so 
Christianity  proposes  no    compromise  with   sin   in 


8o  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

any  form.  If  a  man  commits  a  crime,  however 
atrocious,  he  must  needs  offer  some  sickening  ex- 
cuse for  the  outrage.  So  men  desiring  a  Hfe  of 
unrestrained  passion  and  selfishness  offer  many  ex- 
cuses at  the  bar  of  pubhc  sentiment,  among  which  a 
certain  class  present  their  infidelity  as  an  apology. 
But  the  native  necessities  of  the  soul  will  usually 
assert  themselves,  and  before  entering  the  shadowy 
valley  the  insincerity  of  their  professed  infidelity  is 
discovered,  and  left  as  the  only  legacy  of  hope  in 
their  behalf. 

What  can  a  world  lying  in  sin  and  consequent 
wretchedness  hope  from  infidelity?  It  builds  and 
endows  no  asylums  for  the  insane,  the  blind,  and 
the  helpless  poor.  It  erects  no  churches,  the  grand 
mission  of  which  is  to  counteract  the  degrading  in- 
fluence of  rum,  rowdyism,  and  rascality.  It  sends 
no  missionaries  to  heathen  lands  to  give  them  the 
benefit  of  schools,  colleges,  and  all  the  blessings  of 
Christian  civilization  :  it  does  none  of  these  things; 
but  when  urged  to  assist  in  building  up  these  insti- 
tutions, the  sublime  mission  of  which  is  to  elevate 
our  race  and  glorify  God,  it  apologizes  for  its  self- 
ishness by  offering  at  the  bar  of  public  sentirnent 
the  poor  excuse  of  unbelief. 

(c)  Infidelity  is  ignorant  of  the  subject  it  proposes 
to  discuss.  In  another  part  of  this  work  we  have 
sought  to  show  that  the  infidel,  at  best,  is  only  half 
competent  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  truths  of 
Christianity;   and    this    for   two    obvious    reasons: 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  8l 

First,  Christ  came  not  to  present  the  facts  of  ab- 
stract science,  but  to  reveal  spiritual  truth,  much  of 
which  comes  only  in  the  purview  of  human  experi- 
ence.    If  discerned  at  all,  it  must   be  through  the 
spiritual    vision    of    the    inner    life    of    the    soul. 
Secondly,  the  infidel  makes  no   claim   to  any  such 
spiritual  insight.     He  may  be  fully  capable  of  ex- 
amining and  understanding  the  external  or  the  ob- 
jective testimony  of  Christianity,  but  of  the  internal 
or  subjective    evidence  he  knows  nothing  and  can 
know    nothing    until    he    has    obeyed    the    divine 
injunction,  "  Keep  my  commandments."     His  testi- 
mony is  wholly  one-sided,  and  hence  wholly  unre- 
liable.    Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  once  a  great  skeptic. 
Being  a  mathematician  and  a  philosopher,  he  came 
to  Christianity  demanding  a  mathematical  certainty. 
But  while  such  certainty  was  impossible  in  the  na- 
ture of   things,  by  earnest  seeking  he  obtained  an 
experimental  knowledge  which  he  no  more  doubted 
than    he    questioned    the    truths    of    mathematics. 
This  great    scientist   knew   that   no   man,   however 
learned,  was  a  competent   witness    for   or   against 
Christianity  until  he  was  in  possession  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  experience.      We  are  told  that  Dr.  Halley 
was  once   talking  infidelity   in   His   presence,  when 
Newton  replied,  ''  Dr.  Halley,  I   am   always  glad  to 
hear  you  when  you  speak  about  astronomy  or  other 
parts    of    mathematics,    because    that    is   a   subject 
which  you  have  studied  and  well  understand  ;  but 
you  should  not  talk  of  Christianity,  for  you  have 
6 


82  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

not  studied  it.  I  have;  and  I  am  certain  that  you 
know  nothing  about  the  matter."  Good  govern- 
ment, science,  morahty,  and  reHgion  have  received 
nothing  and  hope  for  nothing  at  the  hand  of  in- 
fideUty:  the  only  conceivable  good  that  can  come 
of  it  is,  that  it  may  excite  the  spirit  of  honest  in- 
vestigation, and  men  after  peering  for  a  time  into 
its  darkness  may  turn  to  Christianity  to  enjoy  its 
light  all  the  more. 

Havinof  said  so  much  of  the  nature  and  neces- 
sities  of  the  soul,  we  need  only  to  turn  to  Christianity 
to  find  a  counterpart  both  of  that  nature  and  those 
necessities.  The  absolute  divinity  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion may  be  seen  by  analogy.  A  careful  study  of 
the  science  of  the  mind,  and  the  laws  under  which 
it  reaches  its  highest  possible  achievement,  together 
with  an  experimental  knowledge  of  the  requirements 
of  Christianity,  will  show  by  their  marked  analogy 
that  the  Creator  of  the  soul  is  the  Author  of  the 
Christian  religion.  External  testimony  may  be  so 
far  convincing  as  to  lead  to  faith,  but  experience 
leads  to  knowledge.  While  faith  may  sometimes 
tremble  doubtfully  in  the  balance,  knowledge  is 
certainty  itself.  We  may  doubt  even  what  we  see 
and  hear,  but  experience  remioves  all  cavil.  The 
difference  between  objective  and  subjective  testi- 
mony is  the  difference  between  faith  and  knowledge, 
between  what  we  believe  and  what  we  know.  Faith 
may  be  necessary  to  bring  us  to  God,  but  the  know- 
ledge of   experience   is   the   result  of  our  coming. 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  83 

Christ  only  asked  the  world  for  faith  enough  to 
make  the  subjective  test.  He  said,  ''  If  any  man  will 
do  his  will,  he  shall  know  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be 
of  God  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself :"  thus  clearly 
showing  that  he  submitted  the  question  of  the 
divinity  of  his  religion  not  to  the  evidence  of  ob- 
servation, but  to  the  test  of  experimental  knowledge. 
And  the  beloved  disciple  understood  this  subjective 
test  when  he  said,  "  Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know 
him,  if  we  keep  his  commandments." 

Nor  do  men  of  honesty  and  intelligence  call  in 
question  the  divine  origin  and  helpfulness  of  the 
Christian  religion,  when  they  observe  its  require- 
ments illustrated  in  the  lives  of  good  men.  It  is 
only  when  the  human  imperfections  and  short- 
comings of  its  professors  are  brought  to  the  bar 
that  it  is  condemned.  It  is  thus  that  Christianity 
has  suffered  more  in  the  house  of  its  pretended 
friends  than  it  has  in  that  of  its  avowed  enemies. 
Hypocritical  pretension  under  the  cloak  of  sanctified 
indulgence  has  been  and  now  is  an  intolerable 
burden  with  which  Christianity  has  been  too  long 
weighed  down.  If  the  world  of  professing  Christians 
could  be  brought  to  practice  the  precepts  of  Jesus, 
and  to  manifest  his  spirit, — the  noblest  that  ever 
animated  human  heart,  the  spirit  of  -love  to  God  and 
to  universal  man, — there  would  come  an  inspiration 
which  would  bring  to  intelligent  skepticism  the 
blush  of  shame   and  everlasting  contempt. 

Nor  is  there  any  justice  in  trying  the  Christian 


84  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

relidon  at   the  bar  of  wickedness.     Mohammedan-. 

o 

ism  should  not  be  condemned  in  the  court  of  a  com- 
munity which  manifested  no  faith  in  the  Koran  and 
exhibited  none  of  the  life  and  spirit  of  Mohammed, 
however  much  they  might  pretend  to  be  his  disci- 
ples. Neither  should  Christianity  be  censured  at  the 
bar  of  society  on  account  of  conduct  of  professors 
of  it,  however  orthodox  in  theory  they  may  be, 
which  reveals  no  practical  faith  in  the  Gospel  of  good- 
will, and  illustrates  in  their  daily  walk  and  con- 
versation none  of  the  life  and  spirit  of  Jesus.  If 
Christianity  be  tried  upon  its  own  merits,  and  not 
upon  what  men  think,  say,  or  do,  it  will  not  only 
stand  the  test,  but  it  will  appear  as  the  "religion  of 
universal  unity,"  destined  to  swallow  up  the  good  of 
all  religions,  and  eliminate  all  of  evil,  and  thus  unite 
all  hearts  in  fraternity  of  universal  brotherhood,  and 
bind  them  back  to  the  great  Father  that  he  may  be 
all  and  in  all. 

If  then  the  infidel  would  emerge  from  the  dark  and 
cheerless  region  of  doubt  into  the  joyous  light  of 
gospel  truth,  he  need  only  adopt  the  short  method 
of  turning  his  thoughts  inward  and  learning  the  deep, 
native  necessities  of  his  soul,  and  then,  committing 
himself  to  the  faith  and  life  demanded  by  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  learn  by  experience  that  those  neces- 
sities are  therein  fully  met.  Whether  we  are  in 
the  church  or  out  of  it,  such  is  the  nature  of  the 
soul  that  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christianity 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  85 

must  be  practically  observed  if  life  is  to  be  made  a 
success,  death  a  triumph,  and  heaven  a  reality. 

And  it  may  be  observed  that  man  is  under  nega' 
tive  as  well  as  positive  law.  He  cannot  lie,  steal,  or 
murder  without  doing  an  irreparable  wrong  to  his 
soul.  Strict  obedience  to  these  negative  laws  is  an 
imperative  duty  which  every  man  owes  to  himself, 
though  touching  these  requirements  the  Bible  were 
as  silent  as  the  grave.  These  are  obligations  im- 
posed, not  because  of  the  written  word,  but  because 
they  were  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the  soul  long 
before  they  were  revealed  in  a  book. 

The  point  we  wish  to  make  is,  that  every  pro- 
hibitory law  of  general  application  recorded  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  was  first  written  in  the  nature  of 
the  soul.  Theft,  robbery,  etc.,  are  wrong,  not  be- 
cause they  are  prohibited  in  the  Bible,  but  rather 
they  are  condemned  in  the  Bible  because  they  were 
wrong  in  the  nature  of  the  soul.  This  one  truth  of  ob- 
servation and  experience  is  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
the  Creator  of  man  is  the  Author  of  the  negative 
laws  of  the  revealed  code  which  are  found  to  be  the 
counterpart  of  man's  nature.  Even  if  atheism  were 
to  achieve  its  long-desired  but  fruitless  victory  of 
convincing  itself  that  there  is  no  God,  no  devil,  no 
heaven,  no  hell,  no  immortality,  ''no  nothing,"  yet, 
as  long  as  the  human  soul  retains  its  nature,  it  is  in 
duty  bound,  for  its  own  sake,  to  obey  the  prohibi- 
tory statutes  of  the  Bible. 


86  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

But  the  soul  is  also  under  positive  law,  the  dupli- 
cate of  which  is  found  in  the  Christian  religion. 

(a)  A  study  of  mental  science,  founded  upon 
observation  and  experience,  will  discover  to  us  the 
necessity  of  faith.  Faith  is  the  souls  confidence 
'founded  upon  evidence — the  mind's  assent  to  a 
proposition  on  the  ground  of  testimony.  Whether 
this  faith  be  strengthening  and  joyous  or  otherwise 
is  determined  by  its  object.  For  example  :  If  a  man 
is  about  to  set  sail  from  New  York  to  Liverpool, 
and  has  reason  to  believe  that  he  will  have,  contrary 
to  his  desires,  a  tempestuous  and  perilous  voyage, 
then  by  so  much  will  his  soul  be  weakened  and  dis- 
couraged ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  has  reason 
to  believe,  as  he  desires,  that  his  voyage  will  be 
pleasant  and  his  arrival  safe,  his  soul  is  strength- 
ened by  emotions  of  pleasure. 

If  the  soul  is  to  be  nerved  to  daring  deeds,  it 
must  have  faith  in  the  possibility  of  success.  But 
for  such  faith,  man  would  never  fell  the  forest,  plow 
the  ground,  sow  the  seed,  and  till  the  soil.  But 
for  such  faith,  we  could  build  no  houses  and  barns, 
plant  no  orchards,  and  rear  no  beautiful  homes. 
But  for  such  faith,  there  had  been  no  companies 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  mines 
of  earth  and  bringing  up  the  wealth  which  a  be- 
nevolent Providence  had  hid  away  for  the  coming 
man  ;  there  had  been  no  ships  to  plow  the  seas, 
railroads  to  cross  the  continents,  and  submerged 
cables  to  connect  the   old    and    new  worlds.     But 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  Sj 

for  such  faith,  communities  had  built  no  school- 
houses,  churches,  asylums,  nor  had  there  been  any 
of  the  multiplied  manifestations  of  Christian  civili- 
zation. In  short,  but  for  such  faith,  there  had  been 
no  such  thing  as  doing. 

And  it  may  be  observed  that  the  soul's  strength 
and  happiness  are  in  the  ratio  of  its  faith,  desire, 
and  expectation.  It  is  through  the  strongest  ex- 
pectation of  the  object  of  his  greatest  craving  that 
man  reaches  his  highest  possibility  of  achievement 
in  strength  and  blessedness.  As  the  soul  in  its 
aspirations  goes  out  for  eternity,  as  is  proven  by  the 
history  of  mankind,  it  follows  that  its  deepest  ne- 
cessities cannot  be  met  by  its  faith  in  the  things  of 
time.  Its  greatest  strength  and  blessedness  are 
born  of  its  faith  in  a  Creator  of  fatherly  benevolence, 
who  holds  out  for  his  children  the  riches  of  eternity. 
The  strength  of  such  faith,  other  things  being  equal, 
is  the  measure  of  the  soul's  power  to  think,  to  do, 
to  dare,  and  to  enjoy.  Look  back  over  the  world 
of  great  men  who  have  done  most  in  the  discovery 
of  true  science,  in  the  establishment  of  a  system  of 
ethics  such  as  would  enhance  the  interest  and 
happiness  of  mankind,  in  personal  labors  and  sacri- 
fices for  truth  and  righteousness,  and  you  will 
behold  an  army  of  men  who  had  the  strongest  faith 
in  a  God  of  fatherly  love.  The  individual  and  the 
nation  have  reached  their  zenith  of  glory  through 
the  inspiration  of  such  exalting  confidence. 

This  faith,  then,  the  sublimest  of  all  which  the  soul 


88  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

can  obtain,  is  the  only  assurance  which  can  inspire 
the  greatest  strength,  courage,  and  happiness,  and 
thus  meet  the  gravest  necessities  of  the  soul.  This 
highest  requirement  of  man's  nature  can  only  be 
found  in  the  Christian  religion.  You  will  search  the 
great  religions  of  the  world  in  vain  to  find  the  lofty 
thought  of  the  "  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  uni- 
versal brotherhood  of  man."  This  sublime  revela- 
tion was  not  made  through  the  world's  wisdom,  but 
by  the  divine  knowledge  of  Him  who  spoke  as  man 
never  spoke.  It  is  the  worship  of  this  holy  One  that 
transforms  the  soul  into  the  likeness  of  his  super- 
lative glory.  He,  therefore^  who  has  none  of  this 
faith  lacks  the  richest  experience  possible  to  man, 
and,  in  the  language  of  the  immortal  Newton,  he 
*' knows  nothing  about  the  matter." 

(d)  Mental  philosophy  discovers  to  us  the  soul's 
native  need  of  HOPE.  As  faith  is  the  mind's  con- 
fidence founded  on  evidence,  so  hope  is  its  expecta- 
tion and  desire.  While  faith  is  the  mind's  assent  to 
a  proposition  because  of  testimony,  and  takes  hold 
of  things  present  and  past  as  well  as  things  to  come, 
hope  looks  only  to  the  future  with  expectant  desire 
of  coming  good.  In  the  absence  of  such  expectation 
and  desire  man  could  put  forth  no  intelligent  effort. 
Outside  of  that  which  is  purely  mechanical  hope  is 
the  mainspring  to  all  human  action.  Only  let  the 
last  spark  of  hope  be  removed  from  the  mind,  and 
the  night  of  despair  will  begin  in  which  there  is  no 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  89 

inspiration,  no  courage,  no  happiness,  nothing   but 
the  gloom  of  an  endless  night. 

The  soul  may  put  forth  goodly  effort  because  of 
hope  which  relates  to  this  life.     A  man  may  exhibit 
great  energy,  and  even  enjoy  much,  on  the  expecta- 
tion and  desire  of  continued  life  and  worldly  pros- 
perity.   In  the  hope  of  acquiring  knowledge  and  fame 
and  enjoying  earthly  pleasures,  man  may  do  wonders 
and  be  at  comparative  peace  with  himself.     But  as 
certainly  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth, 
so  certainly  there  is  a  more  exalted  hope  for  the 
soul  made  for  eternity  than  any  that  time  can  offer. 
Besides,   there   is   coming   a   time   when   all   these 
earthly  expectations  will  be  dissipated.     Now  we 
may   hope    for    life,    health,    material   wealth    and 
worldly  fame  ;  but  soon  these  hopes,  which  relate  to 
time,  will  leave  the  soul,  and  that,too,in  the  hour  of 
its  greatest  need.     It  was  the  approach  of  this  dread 
hour  that   caused   Hume  to  exclaim,  "  I   begin  to 
fancy  myself   in    a   very  deplorable   condition,  en- 
vironed  with   darkness   on   every  side."     Why  not? 
The  soul,  summoned  to  drop  every  earthly  hope  and 
pass  down  through  the  cold,  dark,  and  cheerless  val- 
ley, without   a  ray  of  light   from   the  great  beyond 
shooting  up  from  the  horizon,  is  in  despair  too  intol- 
erable even  for  the  heathen  to  endure,  much  more 
for  one  who  has  deliberately  chosen  darkness  rather 
than  light.     So   the  whole  history  of  our  race  fur- 
nishes but  few  examples  of    men  dying  without   a 
hope  which  survived  all  earthly  expectations. 


90  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

But  this  instinctive  hope  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
solemn  hour  of  death.  The  soul's  greatest  need  in 
this  most  trying  experience  is  an  expectation,  well 
founded  and  clearly  defined,  which  may  serve  "  as 
an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast." 
This  deep  necessity  of  the  soul  cannot  be  met  by 
science,  morals,  philosophy,  or  any  or  all  of  the 
great  religions  of  the  world  outside  of  Christianity, 
nor  by  anything  which  this  world  has  to  offer. 
Only  in  the  Gospel  have  life  and  immortality  been 
brought  to  light.  That  the  Christian  religion  in- 
spires the  soul  with  this  well  -  grounded  hope, 
whether  in  wealth  or  poverty,  health  or  sickness, 
life  or  even  in  the  awful  hour  of  dissolution,  is  a 
truth  which  has  been  attested  in  the  blessed  expe- 
rience of  untold  thousands  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  of  earth.  And  this  most  precious  hope  rests 
not  on  any  one,  or  any  portion  of  the  facts  connect- 
ed with  the  marvelous  history  of  Jesus,  but  upon 
the  solid  foundation  of  all  that  he  said,  all  that  he 
did,  all  that  he  was  in  his  life,  death,  resurrection, 
and  glorious  ascension. 

(c)  Nor  is  it  enough  to  have  faith  and  hope  :  the 
soul's  greatest  necessity  is  love.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  in  the  experience  of  every  man  the  soul  enjoys 
only  what  it  loves.  And  the  nature  and  extent  of 
this  love  are  the  measure  of  its  happiness.  If  it 
loves  nothing  it  enjoys  nothing.  If  the  object  of 
its  love  be  of  the  baser  sort,  then  its  happiness  will 
be  of  low  character.     He  who  loves  nothing  but  the 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  9I 

objects  of  sense  has  a  happiness  only  akin  to  that 
of  the  lower  animals. 

This  leads  us  to  remark  that  man's  emotional  na- 
ture is  affected  in  two  ways,  namely,  by  sensation 
and  reflection.  The  soul  may  have  pleasurable  emo- 
tions through  its  love  for  the  objects  of  sense.  But 
the  enjoyment  that  comes  of  what  we  see,  hear, 
taste,  etc.,  is  not  the  highest  happiness  of  which  man 
is  capable.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  these 
pleasurable  emotions  arising  from  sense  do  not  rep- 
resent the  state  of  mind  with  which  man  is  best  sat- 
isfied in  health  or  sickness,  in  life  or  death,  and 
under  all  the  environments  with  which  he  may  be 
surrounded.  There  is  another  love  and  another 
satisfaction,  as  we  shall  see,  which  are  as  far  above 
these  sensational  pleasures  as  man  is  above  the 
beast. 

Besides,  the  happiness  which  comes  of  sensation 
belongs,  as  suggested,  to  the  lower  order  of  animals 
as  well  as  to  man.  The  horse  has  pleasurable  emo- 
tions, arising  from  the  love  which  he  has  for  what 
he  sees,  hears,  tastes,  etc.  And  alas  !  the  poor  horse 
often  has. very  unpleasurable  emotions,  because  of 
what  he  dislikes  and  fears  but  is  obliged  to  experi- 
ence. It  may  be  observed  that  many  men  of  com- 
parative intelligence  live  in  the  sensual  world,  and 
while  through  their  power  of  reflection  they  learn 
more  of  wretchedness,  they  know  no  more  of  the 
souTs  richest  happiness  than  does  the  beast  of  the 
field.     Living  in  the  sensual  world,  they  live  like  a 


92  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

beast  and  die  like  a  beast.  The  mind's  possible 
peace,  which  is  deep  like  a  river  and  deepens  and 
widens  as  it  flows  on  toward  that  great  ocean  of 
peace  in  the  home  of  eternity,  comes  not  through 
the  senses,  but  from  the  love  born  of  reflection. 
Just  here  is  the  line  which  separates  between  the 
man  and  the  brute. 

The  human  mind  reflects  more  or  less,  whether  it 
will  or  not,  upon  the  past,  present,  and  future  ;  and 
the  result  of  this  reflection  is  its  heaven  or  hell. 
Man  meditates  upon  the  relation  he  sustains  to 
himself,  and  comprehends  somewhat  his  obligations 
to  love  and  obey  his  sense  of  right.  This  is  a  per- 
sonal duty  which  he  would  owe  to  himself  though 
there  were  not  another  man  in  the  universe.  In 
the  light  of  Christianity  he  reflects  upon  his  kinship 
to  his  fellows  and  the  consequent  obligation  of 
being  and  doing  to  all  men  as  he  would  they  should 
do  to  him.  Nor  does  reflection  stop  here ;  but  un- 
der the  influence  of  Christian  revelation  he  ponders 
upon  his  relationship  to  an  infinite  Creator  of  fath- 
erly benevolence, and  his  consequent  duty  of  giving 
to  that  Creator  a  loving  heart  and  an  obedient  life. 
Such  reflections  are  the  native  possibilities  of  the 
human  soul,  and  when  brought  into  play  they  lift 
man  into  the  highest  altitude  of  joy  and  glory. 

And  further,  the  spiritually-minded  man,  who 
has  learned  to  love  these  sacred  relations  and  the 
highest  obligations  which  grow  out  of  them,  has  a 
happiness  of  blessed  experience  which  the  sensual 


CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  93 

man  knows  nothing  of.  It  is  a  matter  of  experi- 
mental knowledge,  that  the  state  of  mind  with 
which  the  soul  is  best  satisfied  at  all  times  and 
under  all  the  environments  of  its  earthly  life  comes 
of  that  conscious  love  for  supreme  excellence  which 
has  been  revealed  in  the  paternal  character  of  its 
Creator.  As  such  love  is  the  soul's  highest  possi- 
bility, so  it  is  its  first  privilege,  greatest  obligation, 
and  hence  its  native  element.  Nowhere  in  the 
wide  universe  has  such  love  been  revealed  but  in 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  it  is  the  piety 
of  faith,  the  worship  of  love  toward  this  Being  of 
supreme  excellence,  that  transforms  the  devout  soul 
into  the  divine  likeness,  and  makes  it  an  heir  of 
God  and  a  joint-heir  with  Christ. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters  we  have  sought  to 
show  (i)  that  the  human  soul  is  made  for  religion, 
as  certainly  as  the  eye  is  made  for  light ;  (2)  that 
this  natural,  inborn  religion  has  manifested  itself  in 
deifying  some  being  or  beings,  giving  to  it  or  them 
moral  character,  and  then  offering  the  sacrifice  of 
personal  devotion  ;  (3)  that  such  loving  consecra- 
tion transforms  the  worshiper  into  the  moral  im- 
age of  the  being  or  beings  thus  worshiped,  in  the 
ratio  of  the  strength  of  his  faith  and  the  intensity 
of  his  veneration  ;  (4)  that  if  the  soul  is  to  reach 
its  highest  happiness  and  superlative  glory,  it  must 
have  before  its  vision  a  Being  infinite  in  his  attri- 
bute of  holiness,  to  whom  with  implicit  faith  it  may 
offer   its   loving    sacrifice ;    (5)    that   in   the   whole 


94  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

broad  range  of  heathen  mythology  we  search  in 
vain  for  a  religion  that  offers  to  its  devotees  a 
Being  of  such  absolute  holiness  of  character ;  (6) 
that  the  Christian  religion  lays  its  claim  to  the 
faith  and  loving  consecration  of  the  world  in  that  it 
offers  for  their  worship  a  Being  of  infinite  perfection 
in  all  his  glorious  attributes  of  wisdom,  power,  and 
universal  benevolence ;  (7)  that  the  Creator  of  the 
human  soul  is  the  Author  of  this  religion  may  be 
clearly  seen  in  the  fact  that  it  exactly  meets  the 
soul's  native  necessities  for  the  highest  possible 
faith,  hope,  and  love,  and  thus  inspires  it  to  think 
well,  speak  well,  and  act  well  its  part  in  the  great 
drama  of  life,  and  imparts  to  it  the  condition  of  ex- 
istence with  which  it  is  best  satisfied  in  circumstances 
prosperous  or  adverse,  in  health  or  sickness,  in  life 
or  death.  It  must  be  obvious  to  eveiy  reflecting 
mind  that  in  all  this  matter  reason  and  revelation 
go  hand  in  hand,  and  that  the  pressing  duty  of  every 
man  is  to  "  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness,  and  all  else  will  be  added." 


PART    II. 
THE   BIBLE. 


PREFATORY. 

(i)  *  **  In  the  beginning"  [fV  apxv — in  the  indefi- 
nite past]  God  manifested  his  thought  in  the  things 
which  he  created.  As  the  picture  is  first  in  the 
mind  of  the  artist,  and  then  upon  the  canvas  as  an 
illustration  of  the  previous  thought,  so  likewise  the 
world  and  the  fullness  thereof,  together  with  all  the 
laws  by  which  they  were  to  be  governed,  were  first 
in  the  mind  of  God,  then  assumed  form  when  crea- 
tion was  an  accomplished  fact. 

(2)  This  revelation  of  thought  in  the  beginning 
was  identical  with  the  Creator,  so  that  to  understand 
the  manifestation  of  God's  thinking  is  to  know  Him 
who  thought.  The  thought  was  with  God :  the 
thought  was  God's. 

(3)  There  were  no  creative  wisdom  and  power  from 
the  beginning  of  creation  until  now,  save  of  God. 

(4)  All  life  was  in  the  Infinite; and  that  life,  mani- 
festing itself  in  the  things  which  were  created  and 

*We  introduce  this  part  of  our  discussion  by  a  paraphrase, 
giving  as  we  believe  the  true  interpretation  of  the  proem  to  the 
Gospel  according  to  John,— a  grand  utterance,  but  of  difficult  and 
doubtful  meaning,  for  it  has  been  the  stumbling  block  of  critics 
and  commentators  of  all  schools  and  of  all  ages — John  i  :  1-14. 


96  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

the  laws  by  which  they  were  governed,  was  the  only 
guiding  light  of  man 

(5)  That  manifestation  of  the  character,  attributes, 
and  will  of  the  Creator  was  shining  through  the 
twilight  of  nature  ;  but  the  moral  and  spiritual  dark- 
ness of  the  minds  of  men  were  not  able  to  compre- 
hend the  life  and  light  of  God   thus  divinely  shining. 

(6)  As  preparatory,  therefore,  to  a  clearer  mani- 
festation of  the  thoughts  and  will  of  God,  one  was 
sent  to  explain  the  light  of  God's  life  and  will  as 
indicated  in  the  things  which  he  had  made.  More 
than  all  the  prophets  that  had  gone  before  him, 
John  the  Forerunner  looked  into  the  text-book  of 
nature,  especially  as  written  in  the  human  soul,  and 
so  enforced  the  law  and  will  of  God  as  therein  writ- 
ten as  to  lead  multitudes  to  repentance.  Truly 
might  Jesus  say,  "Among  them  that  are  born  of 
women  there  hath  not  arisen  a  greater  than  John 
the  Baptist." 

(7)  He  came  as  a  witness  to  this  light  of  life,  thus 
embodied  by  the  creative  hand  of  God  in  the  laws 
of  nature  and  of  the  human  soul,  as  well  as  shadowed 
forth  in  the  older  revelation,  and  had  fulfilled  his 
mission  when  he  had  so  testified  to  them  that  all 
who  possessed  a  teachable  spirit  *'  might  believe." 

(8)  He  made  no  pretensions  save  that  of  pro- 
claiming the  will  of  God  as  manifest  in  the  light  of 
creation. 

(9)  God's  life,  which  thus  shines  in  nature  and 
especially  in  the  human  soul,  is  the  light  which  more 


THE   BIBLE.  97 

or  less  enlighteneth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the 
world. 

(lo)  Though  God  had  revealed  his  thoughts  and 
purposes  concerning  men  in  the  soul  and  in  the 
world  which  he  had  made,  yet  the  blinded  condition 
of  man  failed  to  clearly  comprehend  the  revelation. 
While  the  great  Father  spoke  of  his  character  and 
will  to  all  the  children  of  men,  and  while  many  were 
led  into  heathenish  darkness  because  of  spiritual 
blindness  consequent  upon  sin,  there  were  some  who 
came  to  a  knowledge  of  God  and  who  by  faith  were 
made  his  spiritual  heirs. 

(ii)  God  came  to  his  own  people,  the  Jews,  in 
the  person  of  this  great  preacher,  preaching  repent- 
ance ;  but  they  as  a  nation  rejected  the  light. 

(12)  But  those  of  the  Jews  who  believed  his 
preaching  and  repented  of  their  sins  were  adopted 
into  the  family  of  God  as  his  children. 

(13)  Thus  some  of  the  Jews  were  prepared  for 
the  coming  of  Him  who  is  the  fulfillment  of  all 
prophecy  and  the  end  of  all  revelation,  not  because 
of  their  nationality,  but  because  of  the  incoming 
Spirit  of  God. 

(14)  In  the  fullness  of  time,  the  manifestation  of 
thought  and  will,  which  God  had  made  in  nature  and 
in  the  commonwealth  of  the  soul,  but  which  the  dark- 
ness of  the  human  mind  failed  to  comprehend,  was 
''  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."  Christ  revealed 
the  character,  attributes,  and  will  of  God  so  clearly 
that  none  need  be  ignorant  of  their  duty  and  destiny. 

7 


98  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

John  begins   this   prelude   to  gospel   history,  as 
did  Moses,  with  the  old  book  of  nature ;  and  in  his 
line  of  thought  takes  in  John  the  Baptist,  the  con- 
necting link  between  Judaism  and  Christianity,  and 
thus,  by  coherency  of  thought,  is  led  to  Christ  whose 
marvelous   life   he  proposes  to    give.      He  clearly 
recognizes  the  philosophical  fact  that  God,  having 
endowed  man  with  the  faculty  of  reason,  spoke  to 
him  in  physical  nature,  providence,  and  especially  in 
the  nature  of  the  soul,  as  to  his  character  and  will. 
Paul  has  corroborated  John's  prefatory  suggestions: 
"  The  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and 
Godhead  ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse :    because 
that,  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not 
as  God,  neither  were  thankful,   but  became  vain  in 
their    imaginations,    and    their    foolish    heart   was 
darkened.     Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they 
became  fools ;  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncor- 
ruptible God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible 
man,  and  to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creep- 
ing things.     Wherefore,  God  also  gave  them  up  to 
uncleanness,  through  the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts, 
to  dishonour  their  own  bodies  between  themselves  : 
who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  wor- 
shipped  and    served  the    creature    more   than   the 
Creator,  who  is  blessed  forever.  Amen."  (Romans 
i :  20-25.) 


CHAPTER  V. 

MISCELLANEOUS  AND   INTRODUCTORY. 

(i)  Importance  of  thorough  investigation. — (2)  Difficulties  of  the 
Bible  analogous  to  those  of  nature.— (3)  These  difficulties  will 
be  lessened  by  properly  classifying  the  composition  of  the 
Bible. — (4)  Original  manuscripts. 

Revelation  therefore  means  nothing  less,  it  can 
mean  nothing  more,  than  making  plain  the  sugges- 
tions of  nature.  There  is  not  a  truth  in  the  Bible 
relating  to  God,  duty  or  destiny,  which  is  not  inti- 
mated in  the  things  which  the  Infinite  has  created. 
Everything  which  the  hand  of  God  has  touched 
bears  the  impress  of  the  divine.  The  soul  made  In 
the  image  of  God  is  a  divine  commonwealth  of 
heavenly  pattern.  If  then  we  study  the  Bible  as  an 
interpreter  of  the  thought  of  God  as  suggested  in 
nature  and  the  human  soul,  its  divine  origin  will  be 
made  manifest.  If  reason  and  revelation  are  seen  to 
go  hand  in  hand,  the  Maker  of  the  one  must  be  the 
Author  of  the  other. 

(i)  The  importance  of  this  investigation  cannot 
be  overestimated.  If  out  of  the  world's  darkness 
God  has  uttered  a  clear  and  unmistakable  voice  in 
the  Bible,  it  is  man's  first  privilege  and  highest  duty 
to  know  that  fact.  Moreover,  if  we  would  find  the 
truth  touching  this  subject  of  infinite  moment,  we 
must  recognize  at  the  outset  that  the  question  of 


lOO  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible  is  a  two-sided  question. 
In  ages  past,  as  well  as  now,  thoughtful  men  have 
been  in  dispute  about  it.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to 
accept  without  criticism  the  testimony  of  the  friends 
of  the  Bible,  and  unceremoniously  ignore  the  argu- 
ments of  its  enemies.  Such  ex-parte  testimony 
must  of  necessity  lead  to  a  one-sided  conclusion. 
We  shall  best  serve  the  truth  by  obeying  the  injunc- 
tion, **  Prove  all  things ;  hold  fast  that  which  is 
good." 

In  this  age  of  intense  mental  activity  and  freedom 
of  thought,  when  infidelity  is  aggressive  and  defiant, 
the  minister  is  poorly  qualified  for  the  duties  of  his 
sacred  office  who  has  simply  studied  what  has  been 
said  by  orthodoxy,  but  is  utterly  ignorant  of  the 
arguments  of  heterodoxy. 

Moreover,  to  accept  the  Bible  as  God's  revelation 
on  the  ground  of  any  such  one-sided  testimony  is 
not  only  to  rob  the  soul  of  its  divine  right,  the 
benefit  of  honest  investigation,  but  it  is  also  to  do 
an  irreparable  wrong  to  the  cause  of  truth.  In  the 
economy  of  infinite  wisdom,  all  truth,  whether  sci- 
entific, moral,  or  religious,  seems  to  have  been  hid 
away  in  secret  chambers,  and  that,  too,  with  a  be- 
nevolent design  to  the  good  of  man.  Wisdom  has 
thus  adapted  its  work  to  the  soul's  native  powers  of 
discovery.  So  man's  effort  at  finding  the  truth  re- 
sults in  the  twofold  good  of  discovery  and  develop- 
ment. Truth  discovered  is  the  soul's  enlargement. 
But  we  defeat  the  end  of  both  discovery  and  devel- 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND    INTRODUCTORY.        10 1 

opment  by  ex  parte  investigation,  and  much  more 
by  superstitioLisly  accepting  a  proposition  without 
even  an  effort  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is 
in  us. 

For  this  reason  the  Bible  has  more  to  fear  from 
its  over-credulous  friends  than  it  has  from  its  most 
avowed  enemies.  Excessive  credulity  has  been  and 
is  now  the  greatest  enemy  the  Bible  ever  had.  For 
instance,  to  claim  for  the  Bible  verbal  inspiration, — 
a  thing  which  it  never  claimed  for  itself, — is  so  con- 
trary to  sound  reason  that  many  intelligent  men 
have  been  driven  either  into  skepticism  or  into  a 
state  of  utter  indifference.  To  seek  to  maintain 
such  faith,  or  rather  such  superstition,  is  to  ignore 
intelligent  research  and  reverse  the  wheels  of  Bible 
truth.  The  light  of  the  Church  well-nigh  went  out 
and  the  dark  ages  intervened,  only  for  the  reason 
that  honest  investigation  of  religious  truth  had 
ceased.  While  the  pulpit  contented  itself  with 
Latin  mummery,  and  the  pew  opened  its  ears  wide  to 
the  masked  buffoonery  of  priestcraft,  the  Bible  was 
becoming  more  and  more  nearly  extinct.  And  but 
for  those  few  clear-headed  and  warm-hearted  Wal- 
denses,  who  with  Bible  in  hand  sought  refuge  in  the 
mountains  of  Piedmont,  the  world  would  have  been 
robbed  of  that  revelation  which  to  be  valued  needs 
only  to  be  studied. 

Luther's  protest  was  not  only  against  the  usurpa- 
tion of  popish  presumption,  but  was  equally  hurled 
at  the  stupid  credulity  which  allowed  the  Bible  to 


102  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

be  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  common  people. 
The  grand  mission  of  Protestantism  has  been  and  is 
now  many-sided ;  but  the  great  secret  of  that  power 
by  which  it  has  turned  the  world  upside  down  is  its 
stern  and  unflinching  advocacy  of  the  individual 
right  and  duty  of  every  man  to  "  search  the  Scrip- 
tures." This  honest  and  thorough  searching,  so  far 
from  destroying  the  sacred  record,  has  resulted  in 
translating  and  publishing  the  Bible  into  over  two 
hundred  and  fifty  different  languages  and  scattering 
it  like  autumn  leaves  over  all  the  earth.  When 
investigation  ceases  the  light  of  the  Bible  goes 
out. 

We  only  voice  the  truth  of  history  when  we  aver 
that  the  more  thorough  the  research  of  religious 
truth  has  been  the  more  fully  has  the  Bible  been 
vindicated.  This  fact  carries  with  it  a  twofold  con- 
viction: first,  that  the  Bible,  in  the  main,  must  be 
true,  for  the  reason  that  nothing  but  truth  can  en- 
dure the  light  of  an  honest  and  most  searching  inves- 
tigation. The  light  of  true  science  will  dissipate  the 
darkness  of  every  false  religion.  And,  second,  that, 
while  infidelity  has  purposed  the  overthrow  of  the 
Bible,  it  has  been  so  overruled  as  to  contribute  largely 
to  its  firm  establishment  and  circulation,  by  exciting 
the  spirit  of  most  thorough  and  scholarly  criticism. 
The  infidelity  of  Germany,  France,  and  England  has 
stirred  all  Europe  and  America  with  a  spirit  of  in- 
vestigation which  has  led  to  a  searching  after  truth, 
the  measure  of  which  is  the  scholarship  of  the  nine- 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND    INTRODUCTORY.        IO3 

teenth  century.  But  for  the  philosophy  of  Hegel, 
which  after  his  death  was  distorted  into  pantheism 
and  many  forms  of  infidelity,  Germany  would  have 
become  a  stagnant  pool  of  superstition,  worse,  if 
may  be,  than  the  legends  of  heathen  mythology. 
The  nightmare  of  a  stupid  credulity  which  had  set- 
tled down  upon  it  was  in  the  providence  of  God  to 
be  dissipated  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  ad- 
verse criticism  of  one  school  of  the  disciples  of 
Hegel,  who  were  the  progenitors  of  the  varied  forms 
of  German  infidelity.  Hegelianism  developed  in 
the  "  Tubingen  school  "  full-fledged  deism  ;  and  even 
atheism  not  only  stirred  this  pool  of  mental  stupid- 
ity by  breaking  the  fetters  of  superstition,  but  it 
has  been  instrumental  in  caUing  to  the  front  a  host 
of  scholars  who  have  filled  all  Europe  and  America 
with  a  flood  of  Gospel  light.  This  irrepressible  con- 
flict of  religious  thought,  which  for  more  than  a  half- 
century  has  stirred  the  old  and  new  worlds  to  their 
very  center,  has  forcibly  illustrated  the  truth  of  the 
adage  "Truth  is  mighty  and  must  prevail." 

The  scholarly  skepticism  of  Hume,  on  the  "  in- 
credibility of  miracles"  has  given  the  world  the 
benefit  of  the  masterly  reviews  of  such  men  as  Drs. 
Paley,  Campbell,  and  Palfrey. 

And  even  Voltaire's  blatant  infidelity  has  served 
the  good  purpose  of  breaking  the  chains  which 
popes,  cardinals,  and  priests  had  forged,  and  with 
which  France  was  bound  hand  and  foot.  It  has 
provoked  the  liberty-loving  spirit  which  defies  the 


104  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

popish  bulls  and  priestly  authorities,  and  asserts  its 
inalienable  right  to  '*  search  the  Scriptures"  for  itself. 
And  though  individuals  and  even  churches  may  go 
down  in  the  fearful  conflict,  the  Bible  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  assaults  of  skepticism  and  infidelity 
so  long  as  they  tend  to  excite  the  spirit  of  sound 
learning  and  the  most  searching,  honest,  and  intelli- 
gent investigation. 

That  school-teacher  may  be  a  good  one  who  can 
explain  and  amplify  science,  but  he  is  a  better  one 
who  can  excite  the  spirit  of  honest  investigation;  for 
such  effort  is  attended  with  the  twofold  good  of 
finding  the  truth  and,  what  is  better,  of  unfolding 
the  powers  of  the  mind. 

When  the  pulpit  shall  cease  to  wrangle  over  dis- 
puted theology  while  infidelity  chuckles  at  its  folly, 
and  shall  seek  with  the  same  earnest  enthusiasm  to 
excite  in  the  pew  the  spirit  of  honest  inquiry  after 
truth,  then  will  skepticism  retreat  and  infidelity  hide 
itself. 

The  question  is  not,  "  Is  the  Bible  a  revelation 
from  God  ?"  but  rather,  *'  Does  the  Bible  contain  a 
revelation  from  the  Infinite  Father  sufficient  to  save 
the  lost  race?"  This,  in  this  age  of  enlightened 
reason,  we  apprehend  to  be  the  question  of  all  un- 
biased and  intelligent  men  who  have  the  courage  of 
their  honest  convictions.  And  this  is  the  question 
which  we  shall  seek  to  solve.  We  can  well  afford  to 
allow  the  accumulated  chaff  to  be  blown  away,  if 
only  the  wheat  can  be  gathered  into  the  garner.    If 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND   INTRODUCTORY.        I05 

need  be,  let  the  process  of  elimination  go  on  until 
the  voice  of  God  is  unmistakably  heard. 

(2)  The  difficulties  of  Bible  interpretation  have 
been  urged  as  an  objection  to  its  divinity  of  origin. 
The  common  people  have  thought  that  if  God  had 
uttered  his  voice  there  had  been  no  uncertain  sound. 
Had  Infinite  Wisdom  made  a  revelation  to  finite 
mind,  it  would  have  been  so  clear  and  unmistakable 
that  all  would  have  fully  comprehended  it  and  all  had 
been  of  one  mind  as  to  its  meaning.  But  exactly 
the  reverse  is  the  case.  There  are  many  things  in 
the  Bible  which  are  not  only  hard  to  be  understood 
by  those  who  are  unlearned,  but  of  which  even  the 
wisest  men  of  the  Church  confess  their  ignorance. 
Besides,  many  passages  which  scholarly  men  pretend 
to  understand  are  still  in  open  dispute  among  them. 
While  one  whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  the  study 
of  this  marvelous  book  has  deliberately  concluded 
that  salvation  depends  upon  the  believing  of  certain 
doctrines  and  the  obeying  of  certain  precepts,  an- 
other equally  learned  has  come  to  very  different 
conclusions.  In  the  presence  of  such  contradiction, 
difficulty,  and  doubtfulness  of  interpretation,  sense 
and  reason  have  often  hesitated  to  accept  the  Bible 
as  of  divine  appointment !  As  the  written  book 
seems  too  high  to  be  reached,  too  deep  to  be 
fathomed,  and  too  broad  to  be  comprehended  by 
finite  mind,  it  hardly  appears  reasonable  to  many 
that  an  utterance  of  Heaven  would  be  so  hard  to 
understand. 


I06  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

But  honest  investigation  in  the  light  of  analogy 
will  show  that  such  depths,  heights,  and  breadths  of 
utterance  are  characteristic  of  God.  That  the  old 
book  of  Nature  contains  a  divine  revelation  none 
will  question.  Where  else  can  we  learn  of  the 
Omniscience,  Omnipotence,  and  Omnipresence  of 
the  Infinite?  And  yet  God  has  written  on  every 
page  of  this  old  book  much  of  truth  which  the 
wisest  have  failed  to  understand.  Besides,  many 
things  which  scientists  profess  to  understand  are  in 
doubt  and  dispute.  While  much  has  been  learned 
of  Astronomy,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Botany,  Philos- 
ophy, etc.,  how  little  of  it  all  is  understood  as  com- 
pared with  what  is  yet  to  be  learned  !  The  task  of 
finding  out  God  in  nature  seems  to  be  endless,  and 
is  suggestive  of  an  eternity  of  progressive  work.  It 
must  be  apparent  to  the  thoughtful  mind  that  the 
difficulties  of  finding  out  the  moral  character  of  God 
in  the  Bible  are  quite  analogous  to  those  of  ascer- 
taining his  natural  attributes  as  revealed  in  nature. 
Nor  does  the  analogy  stop  here.  While  God  comes 
to  us  in  the  old  book  with  truth  of  simplest  form 
and  then  stretches  out  far  beyond  our  grasp,  so  in 
the  Bible  he  stoops  to  meet  the  capacity  of  the 
weakest  mind  and  then  ascends  to  satisfy  the  aspira- 
tions and  excite  the  further  investigation  of  the 
most  giant  intellect.  The  Bible,  like  science,  has  to 
do  with  time  and  eternity. 

Nor  do  we  find  any  invincible  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  one  or  the  other  enough  for  all  practi- 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND    INTRODUCTORY.        10/ 

cal  purposes.  While  science  goes  beyond  our  grasp, 
we  know  enough  to  plow  the  ground,  sow  the  seed, 
till  the  soil,  reap  the  harvest,  and  so  to  utilize  the 
forces  of  nature  as  to  meet  the  necessities  of  our 
being.  And  certainly  the  man  who  refuses  to  act 
upon  such  knowledge,  except  for  the  reason  that 
there  is  much  in  nature  which  he  cannot  comprehend, 
is  a  fit  subject  to  be  kept  at  the  expense  of  the  state 
or  allowed  to  starve.  So,  while  the  Bible  contains 
much,  especially  in  matters  of  doctrine,  which  even 
those  richest  in  Biblical  lore  little  understand,  still 
those  of  honest  purpose  and  teachable  spirit,  how- 
ever illiterate,  will  find  no  invincible  difficulty  in 
learning  enough  of  God  and  man  and  the  duties  of 
honesty,  truthfulness,  and  love,  to  be  saved  now  and 
forever.  And  he  that  refuses  to  act  upon  the 
practical  truth  which  may  be  easily  understood,  be- 
cause there  is  much  of  doctrine  which  he  does  not 
understand,  exercises  no  practical  good  sense,  and 
must  live  and  die  without  the  Christian  hope.  Be- 
sides, such  is  the  providence  of  God  that  we  can 
only  hope  to  enjoy  the  greater  spiritual  insight  of 
the  Bible  truth  by  obeying  that  which  we  already 
understand.  It  must  be  apparent  to  the  intelligent 
reader  that  this,  so  far  from  being  an  objection  to 
the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible,  is  evidence  in  its 
favor. 

Nor  is  the  task  of  interpreting  the  Bible  for  prac- 
tical purposes  as  great  as  that  of  reconciling  the  dis- 
crepancy of  pretended  interpretations.    An  old  man 


I08  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

of  whom  we  have  read,  who  for  many  years  enjoyed 
reading  the   sacred    Scriptures,  which  had   been  a 
"  lamp  to  his  feet  and  a  Hght  to  his  path,"  unfortu- 
nately came  across  a  book  which  attempted  to  ex- 
plain what  one  must  believe  and  do  in  order  to  be 
saved.     Soon  he  met  with  another  book  which  gave 
quite  a  different  account  of  the  matter.     He  was  in- 
duced to  take  down  a  list  of  their  hard  words  and 
learned  phrases  to  see  what  the  Bible  said  of  them. 
But,  to  his  surprise,  he  could  not  find  any  of  these 
high-sounding  words  and  scholastic  phrases  in  the 
book.    "  Nor,"  said  he,  "  did  I  find  half  the  difficulty 
in  understanding   the    Bible  that   I    did   in  trying 
to    harmonize   their   pretended  explanations.     The 
fools  are  fighting  about  their  own  fictions  ;  I  will 
leave  their  polluted  streams  and  return  to  the  foun- 
tain."   He  who  comes  to  the  Bible  to  learn  his  duty 
will   find    no    insuperable   difficulty.      But    for   the 
human  efforts  at  explaining  and  defining  just  what 
a  man  should  believe, — touching  the  disputed  doc- 
trines of  Trinity  in   Unity,  Vicarious  Atonement, 
Total    Depravity,  Absolute    Election,   Free   Grace, 
Water  Baptism,  this  way,  that  way,  or  no  way, — but 
for  self-constituted  dictators  as  to  what  was  neces- 
sary to  be  believed   on  these  points  of  systematic 
theology,  which  none  have  been  able  to  settle, — there 
had  been   no  practical  difficulty  in    understanding 
enough  for  all  purposes  of  usefulness.     Every  effort 
at  dogmatizing  on  subjects  of  disputed  theology  has 
been  a  hinderance  to  the  Gospel,  hurtful  to  man- 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND    INTRODUCTORY.       IO9 

kind,  and  a  disgrace  to  Christianity.  In  the  name 
of  the  ^'  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free," 
let  the  Church  arise  to  the  situation  and  earnestly 
protest  against  the  spirit  of  ecclesiastical  dictation. 
Seek  to  ''  edify  one  another,"  and  then  leave  each 
free  to  think  as  God  may  help  him  to  think. 

(3)  The  free  and  honest  student  of  the  Bible  will 
be  greatly  helped  by  a  proper  classification  of  its 
composition.  The  popular  doctrine  of  ''Verbal  In- 
spiration" precludes  the  privilege  and  obvious  duty 
of  discriminating  between  the  various  parts  of  the 
Bible.  If  God  inspired  each  word  from  the  begin- 
ning of  Genesis  to  the  end  of  Revelation,  it  is  pre- 
sumption to  claim  that  the  Gospels  are  better 
authority  than  the  "  Song  of  Solomon,"  or  that  one 
part  of  the  New  Testament  is  preferable  to  another. 
Besides,  on  starting  out  with  such  an  assumption, 
simple  consistency  precludes  the  right  of  allowing 
that  one  of  the  sacred  authors  is  preferable  to 
another.  If  each  word  recorded  in  the  Book  of 
Ruth  was  put  into  the  mind  of  the  author  by  the 
Almighty,  who  dare  say  that  Ruth  in  her  utterance 
was  not  equal  to  Jesus  ?  With  an  assumption  so 
out  of  keeping  with  sense  and  reason,  who  may 
presume  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  Moses,  John, 
Paul,  and  Christ,  as  against  Job,  Nahum,  Habakkuk, 
and  Zephaniah  ? 

If  we  can  get  from  under  the  nightmare  of  super- 
stition, and  read  the  Bible  in  the  light  of  reason,  we 
shall  clearly  observe  that  it  is  a  book  of  History, 


no  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Biography,  Law,  Poetry,  Prophecy,  and  of  Revela- 
tion. This  view  of  the  Bible  will  relieve  it  of  an 
intolerable  burden  which  credulity  has  put  upon  it. 
Besides,  that  part  of  the  sacred  book  which  may 
thus  be  taken  as  of  absolute  divinity  of  origin  will 
appear  all  the  more  beautiful  in  comparison  with 
those  parts  of  the  Bible  which  relate  only  to  History, 
Biography,  etc.,  much  of  which  can  be  recorded 
without  divine  interposition.  This  will  be  shown  in 
the  following  chapters. 

(4)  However  much  we  may  be  interested  in  the 
Old  Testament,  it  is  proper  to  observe  that  our 
special  attention  will  be  given  to  the  New.  We 
are  not  so  much  interested  in  the  past  as  in  the 
present,  and  care  less  to  know  the  divine  methods 
adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  Jews  than  we  do 
to  understand  the  heavenly  message  given  by  Him 
who  has  abolished  the  old  and  established  a  new 
dispensation.  In  the  task  of  proving  that  the  New 
Testament  contains  a  revelation  from  God,  the  logic 
of  events  carries  us  back  to  the  Apostles,  who  heard 
the  wonderful  words  and  witnessed  the  marvelous 
life  and  works  of  Jesus. 

It  is  no  part  of  our  purpose,  however,  to  enter 
into  a  detailed  account  of  the  origin,  antiquity,  and 
genuineness  of  the  various  manuscripts  which  have 
been  carefully  collected  and  collated,  and  from  which 
our  present  sacred  canon  of  scriptures  has  been  com- 
piled. The  Biblical  student  who  has  the  time  and 
disposition  to   enter  into  an  investigation   of   this 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND   INTRODUCTORY.        Ill 

whole  subject  is  referred  to  such  exhaustive  treatises 
as  Home's  ''  Introduction,"  Stowe's  "  Origin  and 
History  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible,"  or  to  the  works 
of  Professor  Tischendorf,  or  Westcott  and  Hort,  or 
others  who  have  written  elaborately  on  the  subject. 
The  object  of  our  task  will  be  more  easily  served  by 
simply  calling  attention  to  the  following  facts  con- 
nected with  the  question  of  original  MSS.,  viz. : 

(i)  The  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  as 
first  written  by  the  Apostles  or  by  their  amanuenses 
have  long  since  perished.  The  most  scholarly  re- 
search has  not  been  able  to  find  any  manuscript  of 
earlier  date  than  the  third  or  fourth  century.  Some 
of  these  oldest  manuscripts  contain  the  whole  of  the 
New  Testament,  while  others  contain  only  parts, 
and  all  show  the  ravages  of  time.  The  fact  that  the 
first  manuscripts,  written  by  the  Apostles  themselves, 
have  all  perished  would  seem  to  affect  the  authen- 
ticity and  genuineness  of  the  sacred  record  ;  but  it 
is  only  seemingly  so,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  careful 
consideration  of  the  following  facts : 

(2)  While  human  language  is  as  old  as  our  race, 
we  may  readily  believe  that  the  art  of  writing  was 
not  given  till  a  later  time.  But  for  the  divine  gift 
of  language  of  some  kind,  our  first  parents  would 
not  have  been  able  to  communicate  their  thoughts, 
and  thus  would  have  been  left  in  a  worse  condition 
than  the  animal  kingdom.  Later  on,  when  com- 
munities were  organized,  and  the  first  generations  be- 
gan to  pass  away,  chirography  of  some  kind  became 


112  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

a  necessity.  But  for  the  art  of  writing,  the  most  of 
human  history  would  have  gone  down  into  a  hope- 
less chasm.  But  while  the  art  of  writing,  in  some 
form,  is  reasonably  supposed  to  have  been  known  in 
very  ancient  time,  the  art  of  printing  was  not  known 
until  the  fifteenth  century.  The  first  copies  of  our 
Bible  were  written  on  perishable  material  pre- 
pared from  the  bark  or  wood  of  trees ;  but  copies 
were  made  from  time  to  time,  for  separate  churches, 
until  about  the  fourth  century  they  began  to  be 
written  on  parchment,  strong  and  durable,  made 
from  the  skins  of  animals.  Thus  it  was  that  for  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  years  our  present  canon  of 
scriptures  was  sacredly  and  safely  kept. 

(3)  About  seventeen  hundred  of  these  manuscripts 
of  the  New  Testament,  or  parts  thereof,  have  been 
gathered  from  the  different  parts  of  the  world, 
copied  by  different  persons,  remote  from  each  other 
and  at  widely  different  ages  of  the  Church. 

(4)  The  most  ancient  manuscripts  were  written  in 
capital  letters,  without  division,  punctuation,  ac- 
cents, or  anything  of  the  kind,— simply  on  straight 
Hues,  with  not  even  a  space  between  words.  Punctu- 
ation and  accents  are  no  parts  of  inspiration,  much 
less  are  chapters  and  verses.  All  these  are  the  work 
of  modern  hands. 

(5)  Though  these  multiplied  manuscripts  have 
come  from  various  parts  of  the  then  known  world, 
copied  by  men  of  widely  different  nationalities,  in 
widely  different  periods  of  time,  and  in  a  way  so 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND   INTRODUCTORY.        II 3 

liable  to  mistakes,  yet  they  all  agree  with  remarka- 
ble harmony  and  exactness,  showing  that  we  of  the 
nineteenth  century  read,  without  material  alteration, 
the  same  Bible  that  was  read  by  the  apostolic  fa- 
thers and  their  successors  in  all  the  past  ages  and 
countries  of  the  Church.  Hence,  though  the  manu- 
scripts as  prepared  by  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John, 
and  the  other  sacred  authors  have  all  perished,  yet 
they,  or  accurate  copies  of  them,  must  have  been  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  wrote  the  manuscripts  which 
we  now  have :  else  how  could  those  men  who  were 
widely  separated  by  time  and  space  have  produced 
records  so  nearly  alike  both  in  matter  and  form  ? 

These  different  manuscripts  do  indeed  present 
some  various  readings  and  some  obvious  interpola- 
tions, but  none  that  affect  any  truth  fundamental  to 
the  divine  plan.  After  a  careful  collation  of  manu- 
scripts in  their  various  readings  Dr.  Stowe  has 
summed  up  thus:  *'  From  the  thousand  manuscripts 
(more  or  less)  of  the  Greek  Testament  or  parts  of 
the  Greek  Testament  which  have  already  been  ex- 
amined, critics  have  selected  about  fifty  thousand 
various  readings.  But  most  of  them  are  simply 
differences  of  orthography — as  if  the  word  labor 
were  spelled  in  one  manuscript  with  the  u^  and  in  an- 
other without  it.  Very  many  are  simply  diversities 
in  the  collection  of  the  words — as  if  one  should 
say,  '  Jesus  went  to  Jerusalem,*  and  another,  'To 
Jerusalem  Jesus  went.'  Not  fifty  of  the  fifty  thousand  ' 
make  any  change  in  the  meaning  whatever." 
8 


114  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

And  having  shown  by  comparison  that  these  fifty 
discrepancies  of  reading  do  not  affect  any  funda- 
mental truth  of  the  New  Testament,  Dr.  Stowe  fur- 
ther says  :  ^'  The  uniformity  and  purity  of  the  text 
of  the  Greek  Testament,  when  we  consider  how  old 
a  book  it  is,  and  for  how  many  ages  it  was  propa- 
gated only  in  manuscript,  before  the  art  of  printing 
was  known,  and  when  we  call  to  mind  the  vicissitudes 
of  persecution,  corruption,  superstition,  unbelief, 
bigotry,  dogmatism,  and  latitudinarianism,  through 
which  the  Christian  churches  have  passed  since  that 
time,  is  perfectly  amazing*,  and  beyond  that  of  any 
other  book  in  the  world  of  frequent  publication  and 
wide  extent.  Milton  and  Bunyan  and  Shakespeare, 
though  scarcely  more  than  two  centuries  old,  and  al- 
ways having  the  advantage  of  type  and  printing,  open 
a  much  wider  field  for  various  readings  than  any  part 
of  the  Greek  Testament,  the  latest  book  of  which  has 
been  in  existence  more  than  seventeen  centuries." 

Elsewhere  the  same  writer  says :  "  With  perhaps 
a  dozen  or  twenty  exceptions,  the  text  of  every 
verse  in  the  New  Testament  may  be  said  to  be  so 
far  settled  by  the  general  consent  of  scholars  that 
any  dispute  as  to  its  meaning  must  relate  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  words  rather  than  to  any  doubts 
respecting  the  words  themselves.  But  in  every  one 
of  Shakespeare's  thirty-seven  plays  there  are  per- 
haps a  hundred  readings  still  in  dispute,  a  large  por- 
tion of  which  materially  affect  the  meaning  of  the 
passages  in  which  they  occur." 


MISCELLANEOUS   AND    INTRODUCTORY.        I15 

By  a  careful  comparison  of  the  foregoing  facts  the 
seemingly  lost  link  of  the  first  three  centuries  is  vir- 
tually replaced,  and  the  sacred  chain  of  manuscripts, 
running  back  to  the  Apostles,  is  made  so  perfect 
that  we  of  this  remote  age  may  be  assured  that  we 
read  the  records  of  those  who  heard  the  words  of 
Jesus,  and  who  witnessed  the  marvelous  deeds  which 
he  performed,  in  the  words  in  which  they  recorded 
them. 

Moreover,  to  be  assured  without  doubt  of  the  im- 
portant fact  that  when  we  read  our  present  Greek 
New  Testament  we  are  reading  the  truths  as  origi- 
nally recorded  by  the  Apostles  themselves,  we  may 
cite  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church. 
We  have  the  writings  of  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius, 
and  Polycarp,  who  were  the  personal  disciples  of 
the  Apostles  themselves,  and  of  Justin  Martyr, 
Irenaeus,  TertuUian,  Origen,  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, Athenagoras,  Agrippa  Castor,  Hermas,  Papias, 
Melito,  Tatian,  Hippolytus,  and  Cyprian,  some  of 
whom  wrote  voluminously,  as  well  as  others  who 
flourished  in  the  second  and  early  part  of  the  third 
century.  From  quotations  found  in  the  writings  of 
these  Fathers,  in  those  of  the  heretical  writers, 
of  Lucian  and  Celsus,  who  wrote  against  Christianity, 
and  of  Eusebius,  the  great  Church  historian  of  the 
fourth  century,  even  though  all  the  manuscripts 
from  which  the  best  editions  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment were  compiled  had  perished,  the  New  Testa- 
ment might  be  well-nigh  perfectly  reproduced.    This 


Il6  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

truth  of  history  clearly  evinces  the  fact  that  these 
Fathers  of  the  Church  not  only  quoted  from  the 
same  sacred  records  from  which  those  eleven  hun- 
dred manuscripts  were  copied,  but  it  is  indisputable 
evidence  that  both  the  Fathers  and  the  writers  of 
those  manuscripts  had  in  their  possession  the  New 
Testament,  as  written  by  the  Apostles  themselves. 
To  believe  that  these  immediate  successors  of  the 
Apostles,  scattered  over  the  then  known  world,  and 
the  authors  of  this  legion  of  manuscripts,  living  hun- 
dreds of  years  apart  and  in  widely  different  parts  of 
the  world,  have  separately  produced  the  same  Greek 
New  Testament  without  having  the  same  original 
Apostolic  records,  is  to  believe  a  greater  miracle 
than  is  recorded  in  the  Bible.  Stick  a  coincidence  is 
humanly  impossible.  Such  unanimity  of  production 
must  have  had  a  unity  of  origin,  or  else  there  has 
been  a  succession  of  accidents  such  as  will  eclipse 
even  the  atheistic  theory  of  creation. 

This  fact,  therefore,  may  in  reason  be  considered  as 
established,  viz. :  that  the  various  manuscripts  from 
which  our  present  New  Testament  was  compiled 
are  in  the  main  only  duplicate  copies  of  the  manu- 
scripts first  written  by  the  Apostles  themselves. 

Nor  need  we  occupy  time  in  calling  attention  to 
the  various  translations  which  have  from  time  to 
time  been  made  from  these  various  manuscripts.  It 
is  sufficient  to  know  that  Biblical  critics,  after  criti- 
cally collating  these  various  manuscripts,  have  given 
us  a  translation  of  a  perfectness  and  exactness  un- 


THE   BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  11/ 

paralleled  in  the  history  of  translations.  Moreover, 
so  long  as  we  have  the  manuscripts  which  are  vir- 
tually the  manuscripts  of  the  Apostles,  Biblical  criti- 
cism is  both  a  privilege  and  a  duty :  the  Biblical  critic 
can  go  back  to  the  original  manuscripts  and  there 
study  and  learn  their  truth  and  spirit  for  himself. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  BIBLE  A  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 

Man  left  to  record  historic  facts  without  Divine  help. — Are  the 
records  true  ? — Consistency  of  Hebrew  history. — God's  hand 
evident. — Apparent  antagonisms  between  Science  and  the 
Bible  solved  by  more  perfect  knowledge,  interpreted  by 
common-sense. 

In  reading  the  Bible  no  one  of  intelligence  will 
fail  to  see  that  it  is  largely  a  book  of  history — a 
simple  record  of  past  events.  Nor  is  there  anything 
so  marvelous  in  its  composition  or  statements  of 
facts  as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  divine  inter- 
position was  necessary  to  the  knowing  or  the  record- 
ing of  those  facts.  To  suppose  that  God  inspires  a 
man  to  report  historical  facts  with  which  he  was 
conversant,  and  could  therefore  tell  without  inspira- 
tion, in  any  other  way  than  to  incite  him  to  record 
what  the  all-comprehending  economy  of  God  in 
man's  behalf  required  to  be  recorded,  is  contrary  to 
the  teaching  of  analogy  and  philosophy,  and  a  claim 
which  the  Bible  nowhere  makes  for  itself. 


Il8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

All  analogy  teaches  that  God  leaves  man  to  do 
what  he  can,  and  only  interposes  when  human 
ability  fails.  For  example,  in  raising  a  crop  there 
are  both  the  human  and  the  divine  sides  to  be 
worked.  Man  can  plow  the  ground,  sow  the  seed, 
till  the  soil.  This,  done  in  the  right  way  and  at  the 
right  time,  is  all  that  he  can  do.  And  yet  how  small 
a  part  he  contributes  to  the  end  of  being  able  to 
reap  a  harvest !  God  alone  can  and  will  send  the 
light  and  heat  of  the  sun  and  the  moisture  of  the 
genial  rain,  and  cause  the  grain  to  germinate  and 
grow.  But  though  the  divine  part  be  done  never 
so  perfectly,  if  the  human  part  be  neglected  there 
will  be  no  harvest  to  reap  and  man  may  be  left  to 
perish.  What  man  can  do  he  must  do,  and  what 
falls  beyond  the  limit  of  his  power  will,  if  necessary, 
be  supplemented  by  the  Infinite. 

It  is  just  so  in  the  Bible.  What  man  could  know 
and  tell  without  divine  interposition  has  been  left 
to  his  care.  But  while  he  can  write  the  history  of 
events  with  which  he  was  conversant,  tell  the  good 
and  the  bad  qualities  of  the  men  with  whom  he  was 
acquainted,  and  write  much  of  truth  in  poetic  verse, 
the  fundamental  and  saving  truths  of  the  sacred 
book,  which  the  world's  wisdom  failed  to  compre- 
hend, must  be  and  have  been  supplemented  by 
Infinite  Wisdom. 

Conceding  that  much  of  the  history  of  the  Bible 
is  purely  human,  the  beauty  of  the  divine  part  will 
stand  out  all  the  more  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK    OF    HISTORY.  I  I9 

of  silver.  But  when  we  claim  that  all  the  historical, 
biographical,  and  poetical  parts  of  the  Bible  are 
equally  inspired  with  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  we 
claim  what  is  devoid  of  all  reason  and  do  a  eross 
injustice  to  Him  who  spoke  as  man  never  spoke. 
But  for  superstition,  as  it  seems  to  us,  we  would 
interpret  much  of  the  history  of  the  Bible  as  we  do 
similar  events  in  other  books. 

The  Israelites,  for  example,  were  often  at  war 
with  the  surrounding  nations;  and  much  of  the 
historical  record  is  taken  up  in  giving  an  account  of 
the  events  which  took  place  on  the  one  side  and  on 
the  other.  Reason  sees  nothing  more  marvelous 
in  these  historic  statements  of  fact  than  in  the  re- 
ported wars  of  Xerxes,  Napoleon,  or  Washington. 
Nor  have  the  Israelitish  wars,  as  reported,  any  more 
to  do  directly  with  saving  our  race  than  has  the 
history  of  the  American  Revolution.  To  claim  any 
more  for  these  historic  events  simply  because  they 
are  in  the  Bible  is  to  claim  more  for  them  than  they 
claim  for  themselves,  and  is  to  detract  from  the 
glory  of  that  part  of  the  Bible  the  divine  origin  of 
which  may  be  clearly  traced.  A  large  portion  of 
the  Old  Testament  is  simply  a  history  of  events 
applicable  only  to  the  Jews,  and  hence  of  compara- 
tively little  interest  to  us,  except  as  a  history  of  that 
remarkable  people  among  whom  Christianity  had 
its  birth.  Why  should  we  be  interested  in,  and  how 
profited  by,the  success  of  this  or  that  army,  except 
as  we  may  observe  the  hand  of  Providence  with  the 


I20  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

one  or  the  other?  And  it  is  wo^rthy  of  observation 
that  then,  as  now,  the  justice  of  the  quarrel  on  the 
one  side  or  the  other  had  much  to  do  with  the  out- 
come. 

While  human  conditions  have  much  to  do  with 
immediate  results,  still,  whatever  else  we  doubt,  we 
should  never  call  in  question  the  fact,  patent  upon 
every  page  of  history,  that  there  is  an  all-controlling 
Mind,  which  not  only  rules  in  the  army  of  the  stars 
but  also  presides  over  the  destiny  of  nations.     Only 
where  such  divine  supervision  can  be  observed  does 
the  sacred  record  become  especially  interesting  and 
profitable.    This  is  beautifully  illustrated  in  the  case 
of    Elijah,  whose  faith  and  religion  were    divinely 
vindicated  in  the  presence  of  ''  the  prophets  of  Baal 
four  hundred    and  fifty,  and    the    prophets  of  the 
groves  four   hundred."     Such   divine   interposition 
may  be  observed,  more  or  less,  through  the  entire 
Jewish   history.     While  the    sacred    historian  may 
have  been  fully  competent,  from  his  own  knowledge 
and  of  his  own  ability,  to  record  the  events  which 
took    place  among  the    Jews    in   their  forty  years' 
journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  yet  it  was  not  with- 
in the  limit   of  his   power  to  do   those   marvelous 
things  which  belong  only  to  God.     He  might  tell 
without  divine  interposition  the  marvelous  story  of 
the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  giving  of  the  ten 
commandments,  the  cleft  rock,  the  miraculous  supply 
of  manna,  and  the  divided  waters  of  the  Jordan; 
but  a  perception  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  good- 


THE    BIIUJ-:   A    BOOK   OF    HISTORY.  121 

ness  by  which  these  events  were  wrought  comes 
only  from  God. 

The  Bible  student,  therefore,  is  only  interested  in 
knowing  that  these  recorded  events  are  true.  And 
it  may  be  observed  that  their  truth  has  not  been 
successfully  denied.  We  have  yet  to  find  any  well- 
authenticated  profane  history  which  invalidates  the 
sacred  history.  Nor  does  the  Bible  materially  con- 
tradict its  own  record.  Hence,  in  the  absence  of 
other  testimony,  the  Bible  record  of  facts  stands 
unimpeached.  Besides,  but  for  these  miraculous 
phenomena  we  are  utterly  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
the  universally  conceded  facts  of  Jewish  history. 

No  one  questions  the  ungarnished  story  of  Joseph 
being  sold  into  Egypt,  and  the  marvelous  circum- 
stances of  his  life.  The  fact  that  from  the  family  of 
Jacob  there  sprang  a  great  nation  has  never  been 
questioned.  Nor  does  any  one  doubt  that  the 
descendants  of  the  old  Patriarch  were  slaves  in 
Egypt,  nor  that  this  nation  of  slaves,  at  the  end 
of  four  hundred  years,  liberated  and  transplanted 
themselves  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  Even  the  story  of 
their  journey  and  the  humanly  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties which  they  had  to  encounter  in  their  tedious 
and  vexatious  travels  has  not  been  successfully 
contradicted.  Dr.  Robinson  and  others  have  shown 
great  study  and  labor  in  seeking  to  explain  how  the 
Israelites  crossed  the  Red  Sea  Avithout  a  special 
miracle.  But  every  effort  at  showing  the  passage  to 
have  been  made  without  special  divine  interposition 


122  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

has  only  made  confusion  worse  confounded.  The 
only  reliable  history  of  that  marvelous  event  is 
given  in  Exodus.  And  it  is  worthy  of  observation 
that  this  story  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  entire 
record  beginning  with  Moses  and  ending  with  the 
establishment  of  the  Israelites  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 
God's  purpose  to  deliver  the  Israelites  from  the 
yoke  of  Egyptian  bondage,  made  known  to  Moses 
in  the  burning  bush  at  Mount  Horeb;  the  marvelous 
events  which  took  place  at  the  meeting  of  this 
divinely- appointed  lawgiver  with  Pharaoh,  and 
which  caused  the  latter  reluctantly  to  say,  '*  Rise 
up,  and  get  you  "forth  from  among  my  people,  both 
ye  and  the  children  of  Israel;"  the  going  forth  of  six 
hundred  thousand  adult  slaves  besides  children, 
with  no  owners  or  taskmasters  to  molest;  the  divine 
guiding  of  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by 
night,  which  led  them  in  a  way  which  they  knew 
not  until  they  were  wedged  in  between  mountains 
on  either  side  and  a  deep  sea  in  front,  affording  an 
opportunity  for  the  signal  display  of  God's  interpos- 
ing power  in  their  behalf ;  this  seeming  blunder  on 
the  part  of  Moses  which  led  Pharaoh  to  summon 
together  his  chariots,  horsemen,  and  army  to  take 
advantage  of  the  situation  and  capture  their  flying 
fugitives  and  again  put  on  the  yoke  of  unrequited 
toil ;  the  wall  of  waters  which  were  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  Israelites,  so  that  they  might  travel  all 
night  on  dry  ground  and  land  safely  on  the  other 
side  ;  the  Egyptians  pursuing  with  Pharaoh's  horses, 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF    HISTORY.  I23 

his  chariots,  and  his  horsemen,  only  to  be  miracu- 
lously ingulfed  in  the  waters,  as  the  Israelites  had 
marvelously  passed  over  on  dry  ground,— all  these 
wonderful  events  are  but  a  continuous  chain  of 
which  the  miraculous  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  is 
but  a  single  link. 

Nor  does  this  marvelous  chain  stop  here.     The 
Decalogue  as  given  to  Moses  amid  the  thunders  of 
Mount  Sinai,  the  equal  of  which  the  world  never  saw, 
and  the  superhuman  character  of  which  will  be  illus- 
trated farther  on;  God's  opposition  to  sin,  because 
of  which  the  Israelites  v/ere  detained  in  the  wilderness 
for  the  term  of  forty  years,  in  an  unproductive  coun- 
try, where  we  can  hardly  conceive  it  possible  that 
the  necessities  of  over  nine  hundred  thousand  people 
could    be    met    without    divine    interposition ;    the 
crossing  of    the    Jordan  ;  the    driving   out    of   the 
Canaanites,  a  nation  of  giants,  and  the  establishment 
of  the  Israelites  in  the  land— all  these  miraculous 
events   are    in    perfect    keeping    with    each    other, 
and  unitedly  present  the  Israelites  as  a  marvelous 
wonder  in  the  history  of  nations. 

Nor  does  the  wonder  stop  here.  The  Jews  of  to- 
day are  but  a  standing  miracle  in  favor  of  the 
prophecies  concerning  this  people.  Their  national 
pride  was  unbounded.  No  people  ever  clung  with 
such  tenacity  to  their  national  life  as  did  the  Jews. 
But  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  prediction  of  Him  who 
knew  the  end  from  the  beginning,  the  strong  ties 
which  bound  them  to  their  national  hfe  have  been 


124  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

providentially  severed,  and  the  remaining  eight  mil- 
lions of  the  descendants  of  Jacob  are  to-day  scattered 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  without  a  country 
which  they  can  call  their  own,  and,  though  dwelling 
in  packed  communities,  having  no  city  of  their  own 
in  the  world. 

These  phenomena  of  Jewish  history  are  so  mani- 
festly miraculous  that  they  present  no  middle  ground 
to  be  occupied.  In  the  light  of  reason  no  rational- 
istic theory  will  account  for  them.  We  must  either 
deny  the  record  in  toto  or  else  consent  that  God  did 
it,  and  that  hence  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes.  But, 
as  previously  suggested,  the  conceded  facts  of  Jewish 
history  can  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  divine  interposition.  While  a  critical  exam- 
ination under  the  guidance  of  reason  will  find  that 
much  of  this  history,  as  a  record,  is  a  purely  human 
work,  yet  the  sun  at  unclouded  noonday  is  not  more 
clearly  seen  than  is  the  hand  of  God  in  the  miracu- 
lous events  therein  recorded. 

It  may  be  objected  that  if  the  Bible  had  been 
divinely  supervised,  human  imperfections  would 
have  been  excluded.  But  it  should  be  observed 
that  Providence  has  to  do  with  fundamental  truth 
and  leaves  man  to  solve  the  practical  problem  in  his 
own  way.  For  example,  God  having  fitted  up  the 
world  for  man's  occupancy,  and  having  made  pro- 
vision whereby  he  can  gain  a  livelihood,  build  up  a 
home,  organize  communities,  construct  cities,  found 
empires,  and  beautify  the  world,  has  then  left  him 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  1 25 

to  solve  the  problem  of  life  in  the  counsels  of  his  own 
free-will.  Thus  God  in  his  dealing  with  man  goes 
only  so  far,  and  leaves  the  residue  largely  to  himself, 
with  all  his  imperfections.  Reason  has  been  charged 
with  the  duty  of  determining  what  belongs  to  the 
divine  and  what  relates  to  the  human  side  of  the 
controversy.  If  we  study  God's  methods  of  dealing 
with  man  as  seen  in  nature  and  providence,  we  shall 
find  no  invincible  difficulty  in  determining  where 
Infinite  Wisdom  and  Power  leave  off,  and  where  hu- 
man ignorance  and  weakness  begin. 

All  this  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  historic  part 
of  the  Bible.  God  has  clearly  made  known  his 
nature^  attributes,  will,  and  the  consequent  duty  and 
destiny  of  man,  and  then  wisely  left  the  residue 
largely  to  the  creature  to  be  solved  in  his  own  way. 
We  say  "wisely,"  for  the  reason  that  man's  individ- 
ual effort  at  solving  in  detail  those  fundamental 
truths  of  revelation  will  be  greatly  helpful  to  him. 
Nor  need  there  be  any  insuperable  difficulty  in  de- 
termining what  belongs  to  the  Infinite  and  what  to 
the  finite.  The  greatest  difficulty  in  hearing  the 
unmistakable  voice  of  God  in  the  Bible  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  we  have  not  been  taught  to  discrimi- 
nate between  the  divine  and  the  human  utterance. 
Only  let  the  Bible  student  begin  the  work  of  dis- 
crimination with  the  courage  of  his  own  convictions, 
and  the  voice  of  God  will  be  certainly  recognized. 

While  the  hand  of  God  may  be  seen  in  Jewish 
history  clear  as  light,  and  obscured  from  none  save 


126  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

those  who  *'  having  eyes  see  not,"  those  divine  inter- 
ludes will  appear  all  the  more  beautiful  in  contrast 
with  the  tone  of  human  imperfection  which  to  the 
unbiased  mind  elsewhere  prevails.  All  we  need  to 
do  is  to  read  the  historic  part  of  the  Bible  with  our 
eyes  open  and  Reason  upon  her  throne,  and  we  shall 
clearly  distinguish  between  the  divine  and  the  hu- 
man. 

It  may  be  further  objected  that  God's  having  sin- 
gled out  the  Jews  as  a  people  to  be  so  peculiarly  and 
divinely  favored  was  an  unjust  discrimination  against 
other  nations  not  in  keeping  with  fatherly  benevo- 
lence. There  are  valid  reasons,  however,  even  from 
a  human  standpoint,  why  the  Jews  or  some  other 
nation  should  have  been  chosen  as  the  repository  of 
the  sublime  truth  of  monotheism.  It  is  known  to 
every  reader  of  history  that  at  the  time  of  Moses  the 
whole  world  had  gone  into  polytheism.  Nor  can 
any  one  know  the  universality  of  idolatry,  the  extent 
to  which  it  was  practiced,  and  the  consequent  degra- 
dation of  the  race,  without  realizing  the  utterly  hope- 
less condition  of  mankind  unless  they  were  relieved 
of  such  an  intolerable  burden  of  superstition.  Nor, 
further,  can  we  conceive  of  a  method  more  divinely 
wise  than  that  which  seeks  to  lift  the  burden  by  estab- 
lishing the  fundamental  doctrine  of  unmixed  monothe- 
ism,— the  doctrine  which  is  central  to  all  science,  the 
foundation  of  all  true  religion,  and  the  secret  power 
which  elevates  the  race.  If  from  benevolent  design 
God  planned  to  save  our  race  from  the  burden  of 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  12/ 

polytheism  and  idolatry,  the  first  step  to  be  taken 
was  to  prepare  a  nation  to  be  the  repository  of  the 
fundamental  truth  of  one  God, 

It  must  be  apparent  to  the  observing  mind  that 
such  an   undertaking,  in  the  face  of  a  polytheistic 
world  and  of  the  freedom  of  the  human  mind,  was 
an  all-important  but  most  difficult  task.     God,  pur- 
posing to  save  man  by  maii,  began,  as  seems  most 
reasonable,  by  training  a  nation,  whose  sublime  mis- 
sion should  be  to  establish  the  foundation  truth  of 
"  one  God."     This  training  was  miany-sided,  and  of 
long  duration.     It  began  in  the  Patriarchal  age  with 
Abram,  who,  in  the  disgusting  and  sickening  pres- 
ence of  polytheistic  idolatry,  maintained  the  doctrine 
and  worship  of  one  God.     This  was  instilled  into 
the  mind  of  his  son  Isaac,  who  transmitted  it  to  the 
patriarch  Jacob,  and  through  him   it   became  the 
divine  legacy  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  who  trans- 
planted it  as  a  tree  to  the  Egyptian  soil,  where  it 
was  divinely  watered  as  with  the  dews  of  Hermon. 
For  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,  while  Israel's 
posterity  was  under  the  yoke  of  bondage,  this  foun- 
dation truth  of  monotheism  was  maintained  upon 
Egyptiar^  soil.     Nor  was  this  yoke  unimportant  in 
protecting   this    fundamental   thought   from    being 
swallowed  up  by  the  idolatry  which  was  everywhere 
prevalent  in  Egypt.     Had  Joseph  and  his  posterity 
been  free  to  mingle  in  the  society  of  the  Egyptians 
on  the  ground  of  social  equality,  they  would  have 
abandoned   their   doctrine  of   one    God   and    gone 


128  REASON   AND  REVELATION. 

wholly  into  polytheistic  worship.  Even  ostracized 
from  society  as  they  were,  their  coming  in  contact 
more  or  less  with  idolatry  had  its  effect  upon  the 
unmixed  monotheism  which  the  family  of  Jacob 
transported  to  that  land  of  thirty  thousand  gods. 

Besides,    that    four   hundred    and    fifty  years    of 
bondage  and  unrequited  toil  bound  the  hearts  of 
Israel's  posterity  so  firmly  together  that  nearly  two 
thousand    years   of   dispersion,  in   which   the   Jews 
have  had  neither  country  nor  city  they  can  call  their 
own,  have  not  been  able  to  sever  them.    And  though 
for   all   these   ages  the    Jews  have  been  scattered 
among   almost   all   nations,  tribes,  and  families  of 
earth,  yet  they  refuse  to  mix  with  the  Gentile  world, 
and  stoutly  maintain  monotheism  in  the  presence  of 
idolatry  and  polytheism,  whether  found  in  heathen 
or  Christian  lands.    Certainly  the  objection  of  unjust 
discrimination  will  entirely  disappear,  and  fatherly 
benevolence    take    its  place,  provided  we  take  into 
account   the   grand  object  to  be  attained,  and  the 
sublime    results   which    have    come    to    the    world 
through  the  divine  selection  of  Israel  as  the  reposi- 
tory of  the  thought  of  one  God  as  against  that  of 
"  lords  many  and  gods  many." 

Once  again.  It  has  been  objected  that  some  of 
the  historic  statements  of  the  Old  Testament  are  at 
variance  with  the  teachings  of  science.  Great  efforts 
are  being  made  to  popularize  this  idea  of  mistakes  in 
the  Bible,  notably  those  of  Moses.  While  we  grant 
that  in  the  historic  part  of  the  Bible  more  or  less  of 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  1 29 

errors  may  be  found,  yet  such  seems  to  have  been 
the  divine  supervision  that  no  mistake  as  to  funda- 
mental facts  has  been  permitted  to  mar  the  sacred 
page.  This  objection  to  the  Bible  is  not  new. 
Almost  every  new  discovery  in  science  has  been 
received  at  first  as  antagonizing  the  divine  record. 
In  the  light  of  these  new  discoveries  heterodoxy 
exultantly  cries,  "  Down  with  the  Bible !"  while 
orthodoxy  wails  out,  "  Down  with  reason,  and  up 
with  revelation  !"  But  men  of  sense  and  moderation 
have  learned  to  wait  until  the  new  *'  science"  has 
been  tested,  and  until  the  Bible  has  been  interpreted 
more  in  keeping  with  sound  reason  ;  when,  without 
an  exception,  the  discrepancy  has  disappeared. 

When  the  Copernican  system  of  astronomy,  for 
example,  was  first  broached,  it  was  thought  to  be 
destructive  of  all  that  part  of  the  Bible  which  referred 
to  the  heavenly  bodies.  But  while  it  has  had  much  to 
do  in  reconstructing  human  theology,  there  is  not  a 
fact  clearly  stated  in  the  Bible  which  the  science  of 
astronomy  contradicts.  The  reference  in  the  Bible 
to  facts  with  which  science  deals  is  by  way  of  z//us- 
traiing  important  truth,  and  not  with  a  view  to  a 
scientific  statement.  It  is  now  claimed,  for  example, 
that  Moses  contradicts  the  teachings  of  geology 
touching  the  age  of  our  world.  While  much  of  so- 
called  science  is  now  in  open  dispute  among  students, 
all  are  agreed  that  our  earth  is  of  great  antiquity. 
In  connection  with  this  question,  the  only  problem 
difficult  to  solve  is  how  men  of  intelligence  should 
9 


130  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

have  been  led  to  conclude  that  Bible  history  con- 
tradicts this  conceded  fact.  As  to  the  age  of  the 
earth,  Moses  says  nothing  and  suggests  nothing. 
He  only  says,  '*  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth."  The  only  word  having 
reference  to  time  is  '' BeresJiith'' — "in  the  begin- 
ning"— which  means  the  indefinite  past.  Hence 
Moses  only  announces  that  at  some  time  in  the 
dateless  past  "  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth."  He  leaves  science  to  tell  us,  if  it  can,  when 
that  "  beginning"  was.  And  this  reference  to  un- 
known time  is  only  by  way  of  illustration.  Moses 
would  declare  to  the  Israelites  and  to  a  polytheistic 
world  that  in  the  beginning,  whenever  that  was,  one 
God,  and  not  many  as  they  supposed,  had  by  his 
own  infinite  energy  created  all  things  animate  and 
inanimate,  whether  in  heaven  or  on  the  earth. 
Moses  was  not  inspired  to  teach  the  facts  of  science, 
but  he  was  divinely  commissioned  to  make  known 
to  the  world  the  sublimer  truth  of  one  God.  We  do 
not  even  suppose  that  he  had  any  knowledge  of  the 
facts  which  the  modern  science  of  Geology  reveals. 
If  he  did,  of  one  thing  we  are  sure:  he  made  no 
attempt  at  stating  them.  Absorbed  with  the  thought 
that  one  Almighty,  in  continued  successive  periods, 
did  it  all,  he  was  entirely  indifferent  as  to  time.  His 
sublime  end  would  be  accomplished  if  only  the 
unbelieving  world  consent  to  the  doctrine  of  oite 
Creator. 
Again,  science    and    Bible  history  touching   the 


THE   BIBLE  A  BOOK  OF  HISTORY.  13I 

origin  of  man  are  by  some  supposed  to  be  in  open 
antagonism.  Atheistic  evolutionists  are  claiming 
that  the  modern  science  of  natural  history  shows  that 
all  forms  of  animal  life,  man  included,  have  been 
evolved  from  one  prototype,  while  Moses  clearly 
claims  special  creation  for  man.  As  this  subject  is 
fully  presented  in  our  chapter  on  *'  Anthropology," 
we  need  only  observe,  in  this  connection,  that  Moses 
simply  states  the  fact  that  "God  created  man  in  his 
own  image,"  and  then  leaves  the  world  to  speculate 
as  to  the  methods  by  which  that  fact  was  accom- 
plished. The  discussion  between  theistic  evolution- 
ists and  those  who  claim  special  creation  for  man 
is  wholly  on  the  question  of  method  and  not  of  fact. 
While  science  has  to  do  with  the  question  how  God 
created  man,  Moses  was  content  to  show  that  God 
did  it.  *'  The  Lord  God  formed  man  out  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  So 
the  Darwinian  theory  of  evolution,  which  at  first 
was  thought  to  be  so  subversive  of  Biblical  history, 
does  not  contradict  the  account  of  Moses  so  far  as 
he  has  ventured  to  state  facts. 

Once  again.  Geology  and  the  Bible  have  been 
interpreted  flatly  to  contradict  each  other  as  to  the 
aere  of  the  human  race.  Some  scientists  claim  to 
have  discovered  that  not  only  is  our  earth  of  great 
antiquity,  but  also  that  man  has  occupied  it  much 
longer  than  the  period  set  forth  in  the  Biblical  his- 
tory.    That  this  discrepancy  is  only  apparent  to  some 


132  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

minds,  and  real  to  none,  may  be  clearly  seen  by  ob- 
serving, first,  that  those  best  skilled  in  anthropology 
are  not  agreed  as  to  the  age  of  man.  While  some 
scholarly  scientists  claim  greater  antiquity  for  our 
race,  others  equally  learned  are  seeking  to  show 
that  Biblical  chronology  as  it  is,  without  supposing 
any  missing  links,  is  substantially  correct ;  so  that 
honest  and  intelligent  criticism  may  justly  demand  a 
stay  of  judgment  until  science  on  this  mooted 
subject  becomes  fixed.  Secondly,  the  chronology  of 
the  Bible  which  indicates  the  age  of  our  race  is  so 
obscure  that  the  best  Biblical  students  have  ma- 
terially differed  as  to  its  teaching.  Nor  can  the 
various  chronologies  be  reconciled.  ''  Of  sacred 
chronology  there  have  been  various  systems.  In 
these  the  epochs  are  the  creation  of  the  world  and 
the  Flood.  But  the  chief  copies  of  the  Bible  do  not 
aeree  as  to  the  dates  of  these  events.  While  the 
Hebrew  text  reckons  four  thousand  years  from  the 
creation  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  to  the  Flood 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  years,  the 
Samaritan  makes  the  former  much  longer,  though 
it  counts  from  the  creation  to  the  Flood  only  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  seven  years.  The 
Septuagint  version  differs  from  both.  It  removes 
the  creation  of  the  world  to  six  thousand  years 
before  Christ,  and  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  the  Flood.  These  differences  have 
never  been  reconciled."  {Chambers  s  EncyclopcEdia^ 
Art.  *'  Chronology.")     This  illustrates  the  fact  that 


THE   BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  1 33 

the  Bible  does  not  propose  to  teach  the  age  of  the 
earth,  nor  yet  the  exact  period  of  time  when  man 
was  created.  These  being  facts  which  the  human 
mind  could  attain  to  without  inspiration,  divine 
revelation  interposes  only  where  the  world's  wis- 
dom would  of  necessity  fail.  The  fact  to  be  re- 
membered is  that  the  Bible,  whether  in  the  Hebrew 
or  Samaritan  text,  or  Septuagint  version,  does  not 
assume  to  teach  the  exact  period  of  time  when  man 
was  created.  Chronology  in  the  Old  Testament  is 
largely  connected  with  lineage,  giving  the  ages  of 
men  of  successive  generations.  And  Matthew,  in 
the  genealogy  of  Jesus  as  given  in  the  first  chapter  of 
his  Gospel,  has  indicated  no  purpose  to  tell  scientists 
the  period  of  time  that  elapsed  between  the  Patri- 
archs and  the  Saviour,  but  only  to  trace  the  lineage 
of  Christ  back  to  Abraham.  And  though  in  doing 
this  he  had  passed  over  hundreds  of  years  from  one 
noted  father  to  another,  it  would  not,  in  the  eye  of 
reason,  invalidate  the  correctness  of  his  genealogy. 
As  he  was  writing  his  Gospel  for  the  special  benefit 
of  the  Jews,  and  as  they  attached  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  the  fact  of  being  the  "  seed  of  Abraham," 
it  was  a  matter  of  peculiar  consequence  that  he 
traced  the  lineage  of  Christ  back  in  unbroken  chain 
to  that  patriarch.  And,  to  be  sure  of  his  aim,  he 
followed  the  authority  of  the  Jewish  text. 

Nor  has  there  been  any  dispute  either  as  to  the 
facts  recorded  in  the  sacred  history  or  as  to  the 
conclusion  reached;  but  the  scientific  and  theological 


134  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

wrangle  for  all  these  years  has  been  over  the  age  of 
mafij  a  theme  which  evidently  was  not  in  the  mind 
of  the  sacred  historian. 

Only  let  the  facts  of  science  be  fully  established, 
and  Bible  history  interpreted  in  the  light  of  reason, 
and  psycho-religious  spasms  and  jubilant  atheism 
will  be  of  the  pasrt.  Only  let  sense  and  moderation 
do  their  perfect  work,  and  in  due  time  we  shall  see 
that  the  sacred  history  and  the  teachings  of  science 
in  their  statements  of  fact  go  hand  in  hand. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  BIBLE  A  BOOK  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 

(i)  Biblical  biography  represents  both  sides  of  human  character. — 
(2)  The  God  of  the  Bible  punishes  wickedness  and  rewards 
righteousness. — (3)  The  representation  of  the  good  and  evil 
of  men's  lives  will  be  helpful  to  mankind. 

No  one  can  read  the  Bible  without  observing 
that  it  deals  largely  with  the  character  of  men.  In 
the  greatest  simplicity  and  frankness  it  tells  both 
sides  of  the  story.  Nor  need  there  be  uncertainty 
as  to  the  character  which  it  condemns  and  the  life 
which  it  seeks  to  encourage.  And  if  the  grand  mis- 
sion of  the  Bible  is  the  destruction  of  sin  and  the 
inauguration  of  truth,  honesty,  and  loving  mercy, 
we  can  see  why  the  two  sides  of  human  character 
should  find  a  place  in  the  sacred  record :  especially 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   BIOGRAPHY.  1 35 

if  it  be  found  that  righteousness  is  encouraged  and 
wickedness  is  condemned. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  some  of  the  men  of  the 
Bible,  notably  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  are  of 
bad  character.  It  has  even  been  clahned  that  some 
who  figured  largely  in  the  history  of  the  chosen 
people,  and  occupy  a  most  prominent  place  in  the 
Bible,  would  not  be  tolerated  in  a  civilized  com- 
munity. If  men  in  this  enh'ghtened  age  were  to  be 
found  guilty  of  such  inhuman  cruelty  and  demoral- 
izing libertinism  as  were  practiced  by  some  men  of 
the  Bible,  they  would  be  put  to  death  or  confined 
in  prison. 

The  best  way  to  defend  the  Bible,  and  the  only 
honest  way,  is  to  grant  that  the  objection  is  well 
taken.  Certainly,  under  the  light  of  Christian 
civilization,  we  would  unhesitatingly  say  that  the 
man  who  would  commit  the  most  horrid  crime, — 
that  of  having  another  man  killed, — and  from  the 
most  contemptible  motive, — that  of  getting  his  wife, 
— deserves  to  be  hanged  if  any  man  does.  And  the 
man  who  would  take  the  advantage  of  his  position 
to  obtain  seven  hundred  wives  and  three  hundred 
concubines  might  well  be  regarded  as  a  living 
pestilence  and  a  walking  hell,  and  as  having  for- 
feited his  right  to  liberty.  A  man  whose  biography 
represents  him  as  an  idolater,  a  wine-bibber,  and  a 
licentious  libertine  we  should  unhesitatingly  regard 
as  a  miserable  example  for  common  decency  to 
follow. 


136  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

While  all  this  must  be  conceded,  let  it  be  dis- 
tinctly declared  that  the  concession  in  nowise  com- 
promises the  sacredness  of  Biblical  biography.  It 
is  gross  injustice  to  hold  the  Bible  responsible  for 
the  character  of  the  men  whose  lives  it  portrays. 
These  sacred  biographies  do  not  propose  to  defend, 
but  simply  to  represent,  character.  And  the  divin- 
ity of  the  record  is  maintained  if  it  can  be  shown, 
first,  that  the  lives  of  these  men  of  the  Bible  are 
faithfully  and  impartially  given,— and  secondly,  that 
the  God  of  the  Bible  punishes  wickedness  and  re- 
wards virtue, — and  thirdly,  that  such  representation 
of  the  good  and  evil  of  men's  lives,  together  with 
the  blessing  and  curse  which  follow,  will  be  helpful 
to  mankind.  If  these  three  propositions  can  be 
maintained,  then  we  may  readily  see  why  these 
biographies  should  have  been  placed  in  the  canon 
of  sacred  Scriptures. 

(j)  Biblical  biography  represe^its  both  sides  of  hu- 
man character.  This  is  a  statement  which  cannot 
be  made  of  human  biographies.  They  are  almost 
exclusively  one-sided  in  the  representation  of  char- 
acter. While  biographical  history  forms  a  large 
part  of  the  great  Ubraries  of  the  country,  we  cannot 
read  any  of  those  books  in  the  hope  of  learning 
more  than  one  half  of  the  truth.  Only  when  two 
biographies  have  been  written  of  the  same  man,  one 
by  the  pen  of  a  personal  friend,  and  the  other  by 
that  of  a  bitter  enemy,  can  we  hope  to  learn  the 
true  character  of  those  who  have  figured  largely  in 


THE   BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   BIOGRAPHY.  1 37 

the  world's  history.  The  eulogies  passed  upon  the 
deceased  members  of  the  American  Congress,  as 
well  as  the  modern  biographies,  clearly  illustrate 
this  statement.  From  these  biographical  eulogies 
we  are  led  to  a  very  false  conclusion  as  to  the  true 
character  of  the  deceased  Congressman,  unless  there 
chance  to  be  an  adverse  criticism,  which  would  be 
regarded  by  both  sides  of  the  House  as  an  indecorum 
almost  intolerable.  So  popular  sentiment  has  de- 
cided that  when  a  man  dies  the  bad  side  of  his  life 
shall  be  buried  with  his  body,  and  only  the  good 
angel  of  his  nature  shall  survive  to  tell  the  sweet 
story  of  a  one-sided  life.  Hence  it  is  that  while 
modern  biographies  portray  in  vivid  colors  all  the 
good  qualities  of  the  individual,  they  are  equally 
careful  to  keep  in  the  background,  if  not  entirely 
out  of  sight,  all  that  would  be  objectionable. 

But  not  so  with  Biblical  biography.  In  these 
sacred  records  there  seems  to  be  an  \i0Xi^?,\.  frankness 
in  the  representation  of  personal  character  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  Bible.  While  it  represents  Moses, 
for  example,  as  a  chosen  servant  of  God,  it  frankly 
tells  us  that  he  committed  murder,  for  which  he  was 
compelled  to  flee  the  country  to  save  his  life. 
While  Moses  in  his  autobiography  gives  repeated 
instances  in  which  he  had  direct  revelation  from 
God,  he  is  equally  frank  to  tell  us  that  his  unbelief 
shut  him  out  of  the  promised  land.  He  begins  his 
story  of  supernatural  correspondence  by  publishing 
to  the  world  that  *'  God  called  unto  him  out  of  the 


138  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

midst  of  the  [burning]  bush."  This  is  only  the  be- 
ginning of  a  long  series  of  marvelous  events  running 
through  a  period  of  forty  years.  These  manifesta- 
tions of  divine  interposition  in  his  behalf,  as  leader 
of  the  Israelites,  were  of  such  character  and  fre- 
quency that  he  could  not  have  been  honestly  mis- 
taken. To  conclude  that  he  was  successfully  hood- 
winked for  all  these  years,  is  to  suppose  a  degree  of 
mental  stupidity  so  out  of  keeping  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  that  nothing  short  of  a  miracle 
would  account  for  it.  And  while  he  had  no  hesi- 
tancy in  understanding  and  believing  the  promises 
which  God  had  made  to  him  and  which  had  been 
fulfilled  again  and  again,  he  was  equally  convinced 
of  the  divinity  of  the  communication  which  notified 
him  that,  because  of  the  sin  of  unbelief,  he  and  his 
brother  Aaron  would  not  be  permitted  to  set  foot 
on  the  land  which  God  had  promised  them  on  con- 
dition of  their  fidelity.  He  is  equally  frank  in  re- 
porting the  great  sin  of  his  life  as  he  was  in  telling 
the  good  of  his  marvelous  career.  While  Moses 
was  fully  competent  to  write  his  own  autobiography 
under  such  divine  supervision  as  to  exclude  any 
fundamental  mistake,  the  miraculous  events  which 
he  records  belong  only  to  the  Almighty.  Nor  does 
it  seem  possible  for  honest  intelligence  to  come  to 
any  other  conclusion. 

Again,  though  Biblical  biography  speaks  of  David 
in  a  general  way,  and,  in  comparison  with  the  hot- 
headed Saul,  as  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  and 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   BIOGRAPHY.  1 39 

highly  approves  of  many  excellent  things  which  he 
did,  it  does  not  hesitate  to  record  his  wickedness  in 
having  committed  the  meanest  crime — that  of 
having  Uriah  murdered  for  the  sake  of  obtaining 
his  wife.  In  human  biography  this  unprecedented 
meanness  of  David  would  not  have  been  mentioned. 
While  the  noble  traits  in  the  character  of  that  grand 
man  would  have  been  eulogized  to  the  skies,  not  a 
breath  of  scandal  would  have  been  permitted  to 
blow  over  his  fair  fame.  But  under  the  special  su- 
pervision of  God,  here  as  elsewhere,  "  there  is 
nothing  hid  that  shall  not  be  revealed." 

So  of  Solomon.  While  the  Bible  gives  his  good 
side  as  to  his  great  wisdom,  his  marvelous  success 
in  building  the  Temple,  the  wonder  of  the  world, 
and  under  God  in  conducting  the  Jewish  nation  to 
the  zenith  of  its  glory,  the  sacred  biography  is  equally 
minute  in  reporting  his  life  of  libertinism  and  de- 
bauch, and  what  came  of  it.  The  Biblical  biography 
is  like  the  mirror  which  represents  the  exact  features 
of  the  man.  The  Bible  looking-glass  gives  both 
sides  of  human  character,  and  thus  indicates  the  di- 
vinity  of  its  origin. 

(2)  The  God  of  the  Bible  pun  ishes  wickedness  and 
rewards  righteousness.  While  skeptics  have  not 
been  slow  to  observe  that  certain  of  the  men  of  the 
Bible  were  in  some  respects  bad  characters,  it  is 
marvelously  strange  that  they  have  held  the  sacred 
book  responsible  for  such  wickedness,  when  it  con- 
demns it  with  unmistakable  voice.     They  seem  to 


I40  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

overlook  the  fundamental  fact  that  the  good  qualities 
of  men  are  held  up  to  encourage  a  life  of  virtue, 
and  the  wickedness  recorded  only  that  the  voice  of 
its  condemnation  may  be  heard.  If  Biblical  biog- 
raphy commended  a  life  of  debauch,  then  might  just 
criticism  denounce  it ;  but  when  it  presents  the  good 
and  the  bad  side  of  human  character  only  with  the 
view  of  encouraging  the  one  and  stamping  out  the 
other,  then  its  divinity  is  established. 

Besides,  it  not  only  offers  a  reward  to  virtue,  and 
pronounces  a  curse  upon  sin,  but  it  represents  the 
only  possible  way  in  which  man  can  get  rid  of  the 
intolerable  burden  of  remorse  which  comes  as  the 
result  of  sin.  While  the  sacred  biography  is  frank 
to  tell  the  world  of  David's  great  sin  in  his  satanic 
methods  to  obtain  Uriah's  wife,  its  ulterior  object 
seems  to  be  to  show  succeeding  generations  the 
depths  of  unutterable  wretchedness  to  which  it 
plunged  him.  His  harp  could  not  be  tuned  to 
songs  of  praise  to  God  while  his  great  soul  was 
weighed  down  under  the  curse  of  this  terrible 
wickedness.  While  thus  shut  up  to  iniquity  he  was 
of  necessity  shut  out  from  God.  Great  as  he  was, 
good  as  he  was  in  comparison  with  any  of  the  kings 
of  his  semi-barbarous  age,  and  in  many  respects 
absolutely  good,  we  learn  for  our  profit  that  be- 
cause of  this  great  sin  his  soul  had  lost  its  native 
mooring,  and  hence  was  filled  with  unutterable 
despair.  In  the  depths  of  his  contrition  and 
anguish  of  his  soul,  he  confesses  his  sin,  condemns 


THE   BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF  BIOGRAPHY.  I4I 

himself,  and  pleads  for  forgiveness  in  the  penitential 
words  of  the  fifty-first  Psalm  :"  Wash  me  thoroughly 
from  mine  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me  from  my  sin  ; 
for  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions,  and  my  sin  is 
ever  before  me.  Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I 
sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight.  Hide  thy 
face  from  my  sins,  and  blot  out  all  mine  iniquities. 
Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God  ;  and  renew  a  right 
spirit  within  me.  Deliver  me  from  bloodguiltiness, 
O  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation;  and  uphold  me 
by  thy  free  spirit.  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors 
thy  ways ;  and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee.'' 
Having  shed  burning  tears  of  deep  regret  for  his 
ignoble  and  unworthy  life,  and  having  cried  out  of 
these  depths,  and  sought,  with  all  intensity  of  pur- 
pose, the  pardoning  love  of  God,  he  then  exultantly 
exclaimed :  "  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  an  hor- 
rible pit,  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  established  my  goings.  And  he  hath 
put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
God  :  many  shall  see  it,  and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in 
the  Lord''  This  story,  which  sets  forth  how  David 
went  away  from  God  into  sin,  the  wretchedness 
into  which  it  plunged  him,  and  the  path  of  deep  con- 
trition as  the  only  way  back  to  the  divine  favor  and 
blessedness,  is  eminently  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
scripture  canon.  If  not,  what  is?  This  sacred  bi- 
ography is  but  a  duplicate  of  the  soul's  subjective 
knowledge.  The  voice  of  experience  has  taught  us 
that  the  way  to  pardon  and  blessedness  is  the  way 


142  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

of  repentance.  David  recognized  the  good  that 
would  come  to  the  world  from  the  report  of  his 
reported  rebellion  and  what  it  led  to,  in  the  expres- 
sion, "  Many  shall  see  it,  and  fear,  and  shall  trust 
in  the  Lord." 

Bearing  in  mind  that  the  Bible  is  not  to  be  held 
responsible  for  the  wickedness  of  the  men  whose 
lives  it  represents,  but  only  for  a  faithful  delineation 
of  both  sides  of  their  character ;  and,  further,  that  it 
promises  a  reward  to  the  good  and  pronounces  a 
curse  upon  the  wicked,  we  are  now  prepared  for  the 
last  and  more  important  proposition,  namely: 

(3)  The  representation  of  the  good  and  evil  of  men  *s 
lives  will  be  helpful  to  mankind.  The  Book  of  Ecclesi- 
astes,  though  largely  made  up  of  the  moral  defeats 
and  miscarriages  of  its  author,  is  eminently  designed 
to  be  abundantly  fruitful  of  good  results.  While  the 
casual  observer  wonders  that  such  a  book  was  put 
into  the  sacred  canon,  the  careful  Bible  student  sees 
clearly  that  it  is  a  logical  part  of  a  perfect  whole. 
The  providential  design  of  the  Bible  is  to  have  men 
"  abhor  that  which  is  evil,  and  cleave  to  that  which 
is  good."  To  the  happy  end  that  *' the  wicked  for- 
sake his  way  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts," 
and  be  induced  to  "  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he 
will  have  mercy  upon  him ;  and  to  our  God,  for  he 
will  abundantly  pardon,"  the  great  Father  would  not 
only  attract  us  into  the  path  of  virtue  by  presenting  a 
life  of  uprightness  and  the  sublime  results  that  come 
of  it,  but  he  would  also  repel  us  from  the  broad  way 


THE  BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   BIOGRAPHY.  I43 

which  leads  to  destruction,  by  giving  us  the  biog- 
raphy of  the  wicked  with  the  '*  vanity  and  vexa- 
tion of  spirit"  that  befalls  them.  While  the  human 
soul  was  divinely  organized  for  immortality  and  com- 
munion with  its  heavenly  Father,  such  are  its  evil 
environments  that  it  is  led  to  hew  out  "  cisterns, 
broken  cisterns,  that  can  hold  no  water."  Man  is 
prone  to  seek  the  things  of  this  world  with  the  view 
of  satisfying  the  cravings  and  necessities  of  the 
soul.  God  would  teach  us  in  this  Book  of  Eccle- 
siastes  that  this  world  cannot  give  what  man  most 
needs,  and  must  have  if  the  soul  is  to  reach  its 
highest  destiny  of  possible  peace. 

And  to  the  end  of  convincing  all  thoughtful  men 
for  all  time  to  come  that  this  world,  with  all  its 
allurements,  has  not  the  one  supreme  good  for 
which  the  human  mind  was  made  and  to  which  it 
aspires,  God  allows  one  man,  who  of  all  men  that 
lived  before  or  since  was  best  qualified,  to  try  every 
apparent  good  thing  under  the  sun  and  to  learn  by 
bitter  experience  that  it  was  all  "vanity  and  vexa- 
tion of  spirit."  To  the  end  that  all  who  came  after 
might  learn,  from  one  who  had  the  opportunity 
of  knowing,  that  the  whole  wide  world  does  not 
contain  enough  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  a  single 
soul,  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  has  been  given  as 
"a  lamp  to  our  feet  and  a  light  to  our  path." 

In  this  divine  supervision,  Solomon  was  to  pro- 
ceed  upon  the  supposition  that  no  philosophy  was 
to  be  relied   upon  save  that  of  experience.     He  de- 


144  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

termined,  therefore,  that  he  would  devote-  his  life 
to  experimenting,  that  he  might  thus,  if  possible, 
find  out  what  was  good — absolutely  "  what  profit 
a  man  hath  of  all  his  labor  which  he  taketh  under 
the  sun."  And,  since  the  world  began  there  never 
has  been  such  a  marvelous  life  of  experimenting. 
Providence  seems  to  have  afforded  facilities  for  his 
work  such  as  were  never  given  to  mortal  before  nor 
since.  God  endowed  him  with  native  ability,  and 
afforded  him  opportunities  for  its  unfolding  such  as 
have  been  the  legacy  of  but  few,  if  any,  men  in 
the  world's  history. 

The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  also  reveal  a  depth  of 
thought  and  comprehensiveness  of  wisdom  which 
are  akin  to  the  marvelous. 

There  is,  however,  a  verdancy  in  modern  thought 
which  regards  the  sayings  of  this  wise  man  as  being 
antiquated,  in  comparison  with  the  present  ad- 
vanced age  of  thinking.  Even  juveniles  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  Solomon's  wisdom  has  been 
greatly  eclipsed  by  this  age  of  progressive  thought, 
and  that,  if  he  were  living  in  this  age  of  steam, 
railroads,  and  telegraphs,  he  would  not  say  ''  there 
is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun ;"  he  would  not 
expose  his  folly  and  ignorance  by  seeking  to  en- 
lighten the  world  with  the  stupid  saying,  "  That 
which  hath  been  is  now,  and  that  which  is  to  be 
hath  already  been."  This  criticism,  as  it  seems, 
grows  out  of  the  immense  difference  between  our 
superficial   thought  and  the    profound    conception 


THE  BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF  BIOGRAPHY.  I45 

of  the  wise  man.     With  one  broad  glance  Solomon 
looks  back  into  the  vista  of  the  past  and  contem- 
plates  the     moral    influences   which   were    at   the 
beginning  of  time   set  to  work,  all  of  which   are  in 
active    force    in    this  our  day.     "  That  which   has 
been    ts   now."     Nothing   is    annihilated    either   in 
the  physical   or   moral  universe.      He  thus    recog- 
nizes a  principle  in  ethical  and  moral  science  which 
was  far  in   advance  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived, 
and  which  the  wisdom  of  the  world  had  not  ampli- 
fied until  it  was  explained   and   applied  to  human 
life  by  Dr.  Babbage.     Having  taken  in  the  past,  he 
peers  into  the   depths  of  the  future  and  sees  that 
"  that  which  is  to  be"  will  only  be  the  remote  re- 
sults  of  the  moral  and    physical  influences  which 
have  been  and   are  now  at  work.     With  this  pro- 
found philosophy  of  the  undying  nature  of  human 
thoughts,    words,    and    actions,    and    the    endless 
influence  of  mechanical  forces,  it  is  not  wonderful 
that  the  wise   man  should  have  exclaimed,  ''  God 
requireth  that  which  is  past." 

With  the  view  of  thoughtfully  testing  "all  things 
that  are  under  the  sun"  which  men  will  be  inclined 
to  seek  after,  Solomon  was  not  only  endowed 
with  native  talent  and  acquired  ability  fitting  him 
for  this  life-work,  but  at  an  early  age  he  was  made 
king  of  one  of  the  greatest  nations  then  upon  the 
globe, — not  of  a  dissevered  portion  merely,  but 
of  all  the  nation  of  Israel.  In  this  capacity  he 
reigned    for   forty   years.      During   this    long   and 


146  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

eventful  life  he  devoted  his  time  to  learning  from 
personal  experience  the  absolute  worth  of  every- 
thing which  humanity  would  be  inclined  to  test. 
His  wisdom,  his  material  prosperity  and  exalted 
position  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  learn  the  in- 
trinsic value,  or  worthlessness  rather,  of  all  that 
the  world  has  to  offer  of  gratification  of  appetite, 
of  excessive  libertinism,  as  well  as  of  esthetic  taste, 
of  wisdom,  wealth,  fame,  commerce,  and  of  vain- 
glory. *'  I  the  Preacher  was  king  over  Israel  in 
Jerusalem.  And  I  gave  my  heart  to  seek  and 
search  out  by  wisdom  concerning  all  things  that 
are  done  under  heaven.  ...  I  have  seen  all  the 
works  that  are  done  under  the  sun ;  and  behold  all 
is  vanity  [emptiness]  and  vexation  of  spirit."  And 
having  earnestly  sought  and  successfully  found 
what  was  absolutely  good  for  the  sons  of  men 
under  the  sun,  his  marvelous  life  of  experience, 
together  with  the  conclusion  to  which  the  wise 
man  was  led,  has  bee-n  faithfully  recorded  in  the 
Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  and  has  wisely  found  place  in 
the  sacred  canon. 

From  the  logic  of  this  life  of  experimenting, 
and  especially  from  the  conclusion  to  which  it  led, 
namely,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  men  to  "fear 
God  and  keep  his  commandments,"  the  great 
Father  would  teach  all  reflecting  men  in  all  suc- 
ceeding ages  that  this  world,  with  all  its  facilities, 
contains  not  sufficient  of  good  to  meet  the  aspira- 
tions and   exalted  necessities  of  a  single  soul.    The 


THE   BIBLE  A  BOOK    OF   HISTORY.  I47 

world  IS  not  high  enough,  deep  enough,  nor  broad 
enough  for  the  ever  heightening,  deepening,  and 
expanding  soul  which  struggles  within  this  house 
of  clay.  Its  spiritual  necessities  of  godly  faith,  im- 
mortal hope,  and  love  for  supreme  excellence,  are 
blessings  which,  as  we  shall  see,  this  world  is  not 
able  to  give. 

{a)  Solomon  tested  worldly  wisdom.  Many  men 
of  intelligence  in  all  ages  and  countrfes  have  labored 
under  the  delusive  hope  that  the  deepest  neces- 
sities of  the  mind  would  be  met  in  the  acquisition 
of  secular  knowledge.  They  imagine  that  the 
supreme  good  for  the  soul  will  be  obtained  if  only 
they  can  acquire  the  wisdom  which  the  world  has 
to  offer.  Solomon  seems  to  have  been  providen- 
tially charged  with  the  duty  of  testing  this  delusion 
to  a  degree  which  others  might  not  hope  for,  and 
then  report  progress  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
might  come  after  him.  "  I  gave  my  heart  to  know 
wisdom,  and  to  know  madness  and  folly:  I  per- 
ceived that  this  also  is  vexation  of  spirit.  For  in 
much  wisdom  is  much  grief :  and  he  that  increaseth 
knowledge  increaseth  sorrow." 

That  Solomon,  in  giving  the  result  of  his  ex- 
perience in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  refers  only 
to  worldly  wisdom,  is  made  apparent  in  the  con- 
clusion to  which  he  was  led  (Eccl.  xii  :  13,  14). 
Besides,  he  recognized  even  secular  knowledge  as 
vastly  better  than  ignorance.  "  I  saw,"  says  he, 
"  that  wisdom   excelleth   folly  as   far  as   light  ex- 


148  REASON   AND   REVELATION." 

celleth  darkness."  Can  wise  men  refuse  to  learn 
wisdom  from  one  who  has  gone  beyond  their 
depths  and  found  no  gold,  and  yet  hope  to  be 
forgiven  of  their  stupidity?  Worldly  wisdom  is 
good  as  far  as  it  goes,  but,  like  Solomon,  we  shall 
find  \t  goodfornoihmg, — that  it  is  only  ** vexation 
of  spirit"  unless  it  leads  to  God,  the  end  of  all 
science,  and  the  only  source  of  what  is  absolutely 
good  for  the  sons  of  men  while  under  the  sun. 

{b)  Solomon  tried  mirth.  The  temptation  to  fri- 
volity has  allured  the  steps  of  many  a  youth.  It  has 
even  been  claimed  by  wise  men  that  amusements 
and  hilarity  are  a  necessity  of  the  young.  And  to 
the  end  that  this  useful  necessity  may  be  met,  the 
"  social  dance"  has  been  instituted,  the  billiard-table 
has  been  placed  in  the  parlor,  the  cards  have  been 
.introduced,  and  philanthropic  men  have  spared 
neither  pains  nor  expense  in  fitting  up  the  public 
ballrooms  and  skating-rinks,  all  for  the  gracious 
reason  that  the  dear  young  people  may  have  their 
mirthful  nature  developed  !  But  who  has  lived  with 
his  eyes  open,  not  to  observe  that  the  natural  tend- 
ency of  all  such  frivolous  hilarity  leads  at  last  to 
the  sad  conclusion  that  it  is  all  ''  vanity  and  vex- 
ation of  spirit"?  The  universal  experience  of  those 
who  have  tried  it  joins  with  that  of  Solomon.  "  I 
said  in  my  heart,  Go  to  now,  I  will  prove  thee  with 
mirth  ;  therefore  enjoy  pleasure :  and  behold,  this 
also  is  vanity.     I  said  of  laughter,  It  is  mad." 

Not  but  that  this  world  may  be  made  joyous,  and 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK    OF   HISTORY.  149 

GWQnjoliy,  if  only  we  can  regard  mirth  as  a  privilege 
of  divine  appointment  upon  which  both  young  and 
old  may  enter  with  profound  thanksgiving.  But  the 
young  man  who  goes  out  to  enter  upon  a  career  of 
mirth  without  taking  God  into  the  account  need 
only  hope  to  return  with  a  sad  countenance  and 
with  a  starved  and  woe-begone  soul.  Many  of  the 
youth  of  our  land  might  be  saved  from  the  sad  re- 
flection of  wasted  opportunities  and  misspent  time, 
if  only  they  would  heed  the  warning  of  this  wise 
man,  which  has  been  recorded  for  their  learning: 
"Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth:  and  let  thy 
heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk 
in  the  way  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine 
eyes :  but  know  thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God 
will  bring  thee  into  judgment."  Enjoy  what  God 
has  given,  but  with  an  eye  to  its  rational  use. 

{c)  Solomon  tested  the  wine-cup.  The  tempta- 
tion to  excess  in  the  use  of  intoxicants  had  been, 
was  then,  is  now,  and  will  ever  be  most  seductive  in 
its  influence.  It  is  an  allurement  which  has  enticed 
more  men  into  wretchedness  and  ruin  than  any  sin 
that  ever  cursed  humanity  or  dishonored  God.  This 
is  an  evil  so  palpable  and  so  destructive  to  the  peace 
of  the  individual,  t-he  happiness  of  home,  and  the 
good  of  community,  and  so  fills  the  soul  with  sadness, 
the  house  with  wretchedness,  and  so  demoralizes 
society,  that  it  would  seem  superfluous  for  wisdom  to 
give  the  result  of  its  experience.  But  as  Solomon 
had  started  out  upon  the    supposition  that  no  phi- 


150  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

losophy  was  to  be  relied  upon  save  that  of  expe- 
rience, and  observing  that  many  were  enticed  into 
the  broad  road  of  drunkenness,  as  if  in  the  hope  ot 
finding  that  which  was  absolutely  good  for  the  sons 
of  men,  he  said,  ''I  sought  in  mine  heart  to  give 
myself  unto  wine,  .  .  .  and  to  lay  hold  on  folly,  till  I 
might  see  what  was  that  good  for  the  sons  of  men." 

And  we  may  well  imagine  that  his  great  wisdom, 
exalted  position,  and  unbounded  wealth  enabled 
him  to  find  out  the  good  and  the  evil  that  was  in  the 
intoxicating  cup.  And  having  thoroughly  tested  it, 
he  gives  the  result  of  his  experience  with  "  rum"  for 
the  benefit  of  all  who  should  come  after  him. 

Solomon  makes  the  inquiry, ''  Who  hath  woe  ?  who 
hath  sorrow  ?  who  hath  contentions  ?  who  hath  bab- 
blings? who  hath  wounds  without  a  cause  ?  who  hath 
redness  of  eyes?"  Here  are  a  series  of  questions, 
and  then  comes  the  answer:  ''They  who  tarry 
long  at  the  wine,  they  who  go  to  seek  mixed  wine." 
Having  given  a  truthful  answer  to  the  questions 
proposed,  the  wise  man  then  gives  his  advice  to  the 
tempted  :  "  Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 
when  it  giveth  color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself 
arieht.  At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent,  and 
stingeth  like  an  adder."  If  these  questions  had  been 
thoroughly  pondered,  the  answer  clearly  understood, 
and  the  advice  faithfully  observed,  an  intolerable 
burden  would  have  been  lifted  from  the  heart  of 
suffering  humanity.  Nor  would  this  God-favored 
country  be  cursed  with  an  army  of  three  hundred 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  151 

and  sixty  thousand  inebriates,  who  are  marching, 
to  the  tune  of  death,  down  to  a  drunkard's  hell. 

{d)  Solomon  tested  ivealtJi.  The  sin  of  covetous- 
ness,  which  is  idolatry,  has  always  been  the  bane  of 
society  and  the  curse  of  the  individual.  Wealth  is 
either  a  great  blessing  or  a  blighting  curse.  This 
depends  wholly  upon  the  methods  by  which  it  is  ob- 
tained, the  regard  in  which  it  is  held,  and  the  use 
that  is  made  of  it.  If  a  man  obtains  his  wealth 
honestly,  regards  it  as  the  loan  of  a  benevolent 
Providence,  and  distributes  it  for  the  good  of  him- 
self, his  family,  the  community,  and  the  world,  then 
it  becomes  an  instrumentality  of  incalculable  good  ; 
but  if  he  obtains  it  by  methods  of  doubtful  charac- 
ter, regards  it  as  the  supreme  good,  and  clings  to 
it  for  its  own  sake  and  not  for  the  purposes  of  human 
helpfulness,  then  the  only  result  is  that  he  who  has 
been  so  unfortunate  as  to  obtain  it  is  neither  fit  to 
live  nor  prepared  to  die.  And  while  generous  men 
will  breathe  easier  when  it  is  known  that  such  a  one 
has  ceased  to  breathe,  the  doors  of  heaven  will  be 
so  barred  that  he  can  no  more  enter  than  a  camel 
can  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle. 

While  there  is  no  sin  that  so  dwarfs  the  soul  into 
pitiful  littleness  as  does  covetousness,  there  is  also 
none  rnore  deceptive  and  seductive.  The  drunkard 
often  realizes  that  he  is  on  the  road  to  ruin  ;  but 
the  covetous  wealthy  man  seems  utterly  insensible  as 
to  the  direction  of  his  course  and  the  awful  end  to 
which  it  leads.     To  the  end  that  he  may  be  warned 


152  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

of  the  "  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit "  to  which  his 
course  tends,  Solomon  comes  in  with  his  experience. 
''  I  made  me  great  works  ;  I  builded  me  houses" 
[his  own  private  residence  required  thirteen  years 
for  its  completion,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
finest  residence  that  was  ever  built  upon  the  globe]; 
"  I  planted  me  vineyards :  I  made  me  gardens  and 
orchards,  and  I  planted  trees  in  them  of  all  kinds  of 
fruit :  I  made  me  pools  of  water  to  water  there- 
with the  wood  that  bringeth  forth  trees :  I  got  me 
servants  and  maidens,  and  had  servants  born  in  my 
house  ;  also  I  had  great  possessions  of  great  and 
small  cattle  above  all  that  were  in  Jerusalem  before 
me :  I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold,  and  the 
peculiar  treasure  of  kings  and  of  the  provinces :  I 
gat  me  men-singers  and  women-singers,  and  the  de- 
lights of  the  sons  of  men,  as  musical  instruments, 
and  that  of  all  sorts.  So  I  was  great,  and  increased 
more  than  all  that  were  before  me  in  Jerusalem : 
also  my  wisdom  remained  with  me.  And  whatsoever 
mine  eyes  desired  I  kept  not  from  them,  I  withheld 
not  my  heart  from  any  joy  ;  for  my  heart  rejoiced  in 
all  my  labour :  and  this  was  my  portion  of  all  my  la- 
bour. Then  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my  hands 
had  wrought,  and  the  labour  that  I  had  laboured 
to  do :  and  behold,  all  was  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit,  and  there  was  no  profit  under  the  sun." 
(Eccl.  ii  :  4-1 1.)  When  the  Queen  of  Sheba  heard  of 
the  wisdom,  wealth,  fame,  and  great  glory  of  King 
Solomon's  court,  she  set  out  for  Jerusalem,  "  with 


THE  BIBLE  A  BOOK   OF   HISTORY.  153 

a  very  great  train,  and  with  very  much  gold,  and 
precious  stones."  The  reported  splendor  was  more 
than  she  could  believe,  but  when  she  witnessed  the 
wisdom  and  superlative  glory  of  his  court,  she  ex- 
claimed, "  Behold,  the  half  was  not  told  me."  In 
the  presence  of  such  knowledge,  honor,  and  material 
prosperity,  and  the  conclusion  that  it  was  **  all  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit,"  who  will  be  so  presumptuous 
as  to  seek  wealth  as  an  end^  rather  than  the  means 
Q)i  getting  good  and  doing  good,  and  thus  fritter  away 
life's  golden  opportunities  and  be  led  at  last  to  ex- 
claim, in  bitter  wail,  '^  The  harvest  is  past,  the  sum- 
mer ended,  and  I  am  not  saved"? 

Having  tested  Libertinism,  Drink,  Mirth,  Wealth, 
Agriculture,  Fame,  Commerce,  Wisdom,  and  every- 
thing '■'■  under  the  sun"  which  might  tend  to  allure 
the  steps  of  humanity  with  the  delusive  promise  of 
being  the  *' one  thing  needful,"  Solomon  sums  up 
the  result  of  his  life's  experience:  ''Let  us  hear  the 
conclusion  of  the  whole  matter :  Fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments;  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man." 
After  a  long  life  of  earnest  seeking,  and  of  success  in 
finding  out  what  is  good — intrinsically  good — for  the 
sons  of  men  while  under  the  sun,  the  Preacher  gives 
a  valid  reason  for  his  advice  :  "  For  God  shall  bring 
every  work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing, 
whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil." 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  bad  character  of 
Solomon  and  other  men  of  the  Bible,  it  is  certainly 
apparent,  first,  that  the  sacred  record,  unlike  human 


154  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

biographies,  has  frankly  given  both  the  good  and 
the  bad  sides  of  their  Hves.  Secondly,  while  the 
sacred  biographies  unmistakably  represent  the  curse 
of  the  Almighty  as  resting  "  upon  every  soul  of 
man  that  doeth  evil,"  they  are  equally  pronounced 
in  their  promises  of  divine  blessing  upon  "  them 
who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for 
glory  and  honour  and  immortality."  Thirdly,  it  must 
be  equally  obvious  that  such  representation  of  a 
wicked  life,  together  with  the  awful  end  to  which  it 
leads,  is  eminently  worthy  of  God,  and  hence  de- 
serves a  place  in  the  sacred  canon.  It  is  thus  that 
the  great  Father  would  persuade  to  virtue  by  the 
blessings  which  it  brings  and  the  hope  which  it  in- 
spires, and  repel  from  sin  by  the  wickedness  which 
it  leads  to  and  the  despair  which  comes  of  it — '*  if  by 
any  means"  he  ''  might  save  some." 

While  the  Bible  as  a  book  of  Biography  is  seen 
to  be  eminently  helpful  to  humanity,  and  hence  de- 
serving a  place  with  the  Bible  as  a  book  of  Revela- 
tion, yet  in  the  light  of  reason  we  should  discrimi- 
nate between  the  human  and  the  divine  utterances. 
While  we  believe  in  a  Providential  supervision  which 
has  excluded  any  fundamental  error  from  marring 
the  page  of  sacred  biography,  we  are  not  at  liberty 
to  accept  it  as  being  inspired  of  God  in  the  same 
sense  as  we  do  those  saving  truths  \v\i\z\i  the  world's 
wisdom  failed  to  grasp,  and  which,  therefore,  have 
been  made  known  in  the  Bible  as  a  book  of  Revela- 
tion.    "  Man's  necessity  is  God's  opportunity." 


THE   BIBLE   A  BOOK   OF   REVEALED    LAW.     1 55 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BIBLE   A  BOOK  OF  REVEALED   LAW. 

Section  (I).  How  is  Divinity  of  origin  determined  ?— Section  (II). 
Laws  are  of  local  or  general  application. — Section  (III). 
Completeness  of  Old  Testament  laws.— Section  (IV).  Old 
Testament  laws  of  divine  origin.— (i)  Consider  the  nature  of 
the  Decalogue.— (2)  Consider  its  arrangement  and  complete- 
ness.—(3)  Consider  its  possible  origin. 

In  reading  the  sacred  volume,  if  we  would  clearly 
distinguish  between  that  which  is  divinely  inspired 
and  that  which  human  wisdom  may  have  recorded, 
it  is  important  that  we  discriminate  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  scripture  under  consideration.  We 
should  so  classify  the  literature  of  the  Bible  as  to  be 
able  to  know  whether  what  we  read  is  historical, 
biographical,  poetical,  or  direct  revelation.  It  is  only 
thus  that  human  reason  can  fulfill  its  divine  mission 
of  rendering  to  man  the  things  which  are  man's, 
and  to  God  the  things  which  are  God's.  Nor  can 
any  one  thus  read  the  Bible  in  the  light  of  reason 
without  meeting /"n/M  eminently  applicable  to  man's 
nature  and  God's  glory,  which  is  beyond  the  pur- 
view of  human  wisdom,  and  which  therefore  must 
be  what  it  claims  to  be,  of  divine  origin.  In  this 
age  of  skepticism  and  doubt,  this  last  statement  is 
of  infinite  moment,  and  therefore  well  deserves  a 


156  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

most  thorough  and  honest  criticism.  To  the  task 
of  pointing  out  divine  interposition  in  giving  the 
fundamental  laws  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  the 
special  intent  of  this  chapter  devoted. 

SECTION  (l). 
How  is  Divinity  of  Origin  Determined? 

The  practical  question  of  every  honest  seeker 
after  truth  is,  "  How  shall  I  know  that  the  laws  of 
general  application  found  in  the  Old  Testament  are 
of  God  and  not  of  man?"  In  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, it  may  be  observed  that  it  is  not  enough  to 
know  that  the  great  and  good  men  of  the  ages  have 
regarded  them  as  of  divine  origin.  This  testimony, 
at  best,  is  only  presumptive  and  suggestive,  and 
proves  nothing.  It  may  serve  as  the  foundation  of 
a  superstition  which  pins  its  faith  to  the  skirts  of 
others,  but  the  man  who  assumes  the  responsibility 
of  thinking  for  himself  asks  for  the  divine  right  of 
so  clearly  seeing  the  truth  that  he  may  be  able  to 
"give  a  reason  for  the  hope  "  that  is  in  him. 

Nor  is  it  enough  to  know  that  these  laws  are  in 
the  Bible.  They  might  be  found  in  the  catalogue 
of  the  sacred  canon,  which  the  Church  has  sanc- 
tioned for  thousands  of  years,  and  yet,  like  much 
else  that  is  found  there,  they  might  be  observed  as 
being  within  the  compass  of  human  knowledge. 
These  commandments  are  not  true  because  they 
are  in  the  Bible,  but  rather  they  are  in  the  Bible 


THE  BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   REVEALED   LAW.     1 57 

because  they  are  true  in  the  nature  of  man  and  the 
wisdom  of  God.  If  these  laws  are  clearly  seen  to  be 
God-inspired,  the  evidence  must  show,  first,  that  they 
are  a  necessity  of  the  soul's  nature  ;  secondly,  that 
they  are  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  society  ; 
and  thirdly,  and  especially,  it  must  be  shown  that 
the  world's  wisdom  at  the  time  they  were  given  was 
utterly  inadequate  to  the  task  of  enacting  such  lav/s. 
If  these  three  steps  of  thought  are  seen  to  be  co- 
herent, then  the  conclusion  of  their  divine  inspira- 
tion is  inevitable.  Before  proceeding  to  establish 
these  several  propositions,  it  is  well  to  discriminate 
as  to  the  application  of  law. 

SECTION  (11). 

Laws  are  of  Local  or  General  Application. 

Every  student  of  the  Old  Testament  has  ob- 
served that  many  of  its  laws  are  of  a  local  character, 
applicable  only  to  the  Jews  in  their  local  and  iso- 
lated condition.  While  some  of  them  are  purely 
political,  some  moral,  and  others  sanitary,  they  are 
all  applicable  mainly  to  the  Israelites  in  their 
tedious  journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan.  It  is  no 
part  of  our  purpose  to  challenge  criticism  upon  that 
portion  of  Jewish  theocracy  which  is  applicable 
only  to  the  Jews.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  that 
whatever  criticism  may  be  put  upon  those  Jewish 
laws,  this  may  be  said  in  truth,  that  under  the  faith- 
ful administration  of  them,  including  the  Decalogue, 


158  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  Israelites  arose  from  a  state  of  slavery  and  serf- 
dom into  the  grandest  nation  that  the  world  had 
then  ever  produced.  While  it  maybe  seen  that  the 
entire  code  of  law,  as  given  by  Moses,  was  of  divine 
appointment,  yet,  as  much  of  it  had  reference  to  the 
political  and  sanitary  condition  of  the  Jews,  and 
therefore  had  relation  to  time  and  place,  we  shall 
pass  them  all  by  to  ask  special  criticism  upon  those 
laws  which  are  of  universal  application,  to  all  ages, 
conditions,  and  countries  of  the  world. 

It  is  well  to  observe,  furthermore,  that  these  Old 
Testament  laws  which  apply  to  all  men  are  of  two 
classes,  namely,/r^//2(^2V^r;/  and  obligatory  ;  and  both 
will  be  seen  to  be  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of 
the  individual  and  of  society,  as  they  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  glory  of  God.  We  shall  observe 
still  further,  that  this  duality  of  law  is  of  threefold 
application:  (i)  Laws  fixing  the  obligation  that 
man  is  under  to  himself;  (2)  Duties  imposed 
upon  the  individual  because  of  his  relation  to 
family,  society,  and  the  world ;  (3)  Statutes  fixing 
man's  obligations  growing  out  of  his  sacred  relation 
to  his  Creator, 

SECTION  (ill). 

Completeness  of  Old  Testament  Laws. 

The  space  allotted  to  this  section  will  not  allow 
us  to  go  over  the  laws  of  the  Bible  in  detail  and 
show  how  they  are  the  counterpart  of  man's  varied 


THE   EIBLE   A    LOOK   OF   REVEALED    LAW.      1 59 

necessities,  but  we  shall  aim  to  present  such  a  sitm- 
Diary  as  will  embrace  all  laws  of  general  application. 
As  the  lesser  is  of  necessity  embraced  in  the  greater, 
if  a  perfect  digest  be  maintained  as  of  divine  origin, 
then  ail  the  laws  in  detail,  set  forth  in  the  epitome, 
must  also  be  of  God.  In  the  abstract  that  we  shall 
give,  we  ask  the  Bible  student  to  find  a  single 
law  of  general  application,  whether  prohibitory  or 
obligatory^  which  will  not  resolve  itself  back  into 
this  summary. 

Fortunately  the  entire  code  of  law,  as  given  in 
the  Bible,  is  summed  up  in  a  few  terse  words  in  a 
number  of  places  ;  so  that  ''  he  who  runs  may  read," 
and  he  who  has  an  honest  desire  may  understand. 
Nor  can  honesty  and  intelligence  call  them  in  ques- 
tion. For  example,  *'  He  hath  shewed  thee,  O  man, 
what  is  good  :  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of 
thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to 
walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"  (Micah  vi  :  8.)  In 
perfect  keeping  with  the  thought  of  the  prophet,  we 
might  answer  his  profound  question  with  the  single 
word  "  Nothing."  This  one  verse  tells  the  whole 
story  of  human  duty.  These  words  are  so  divinely 
grouped  together,  that  they  carry  with  them  the 
thought  of  both  negative  and  positive  duty  in  its 
entirety.  If  we  study  the  requirements  of  the  Bible, 
from  the  beginning  of  Genesis  to  the  end  of  Reve- 
lation, we  shall  not  find  a  law,  clearly  stated  and  of 
universal  application,  that  in  any  material  point  an- 
tagonizes this  short  code ;    nor  shall  we  observe  a 


l6o  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

single  requirement  made  for  the  race,  which  does 
not  resolve  itself  back  into  the  epitome  of  human 
duty  as  set  forth  in  this  single  verse.  If  in  our  Bible 
reading  we  find  here  and  there  laws  relating  to  the 
duty  we  owe  to  ourselves,  our  families,  our  com- 
munity, or  our  Creator,  we  will  observe  that  they 
are  clearly  couched  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  three 
words,  JUSTICE,  MERCY,  HUMILITY.  Do  justly,  love 
mercy,  walk  humbly  with  thy  God. 

Nor  is  there  any  one  so  much  interested  in  the 
observance  of  these  three  requirements  as  is  the  indi- 
vidual himself.  Justice^  mercy ^  and  humility  are  the 
native  necessities  of  the  soul,  as  every  reflective  mind 
must  allow.  Nor  can  anyone  of  these  requirements 
be  disregarded  without  doing  violence  to  our  nature. 
Honesty  and  intelligence  bar  infidelity  on  this  point, 
A  man  may  be  an  honest  infidel  touching  this  sum- 
mary of  divine  law,  but  if  so  he  lacks  intelligence : 
he  may  be  an  intelligent  infidel,  but  if  so  he  is  not 
honest. 

Even  if  impossibility  were  made  possible,  and 
atheism  were  thus  able  to  convince  us  that  there  is 
no  God,  no  devil,  no  heaven,  no  hell,  no  anything, 
but  man  with  his  sensitive  soul,  even  then  the  require- 
ments oi  justice,  mercy,  and  humility  would  remain 
in  force.  Besides,  the  man  who  contributes  most  to 
the  good  of  his  family,  the  community,  and  to  man- 
kind is  the  man  who  most  intelligently  and  faith- 
fully observes  this  summary  of  Bible  law.  No  matter 
for  our  pretensions,  the  fact,  founded  upon  observa- 


THE   BIBLE   A  BOOK   OF  REVEALED   LAW.      l6l 

tion  and  experience,  remains  the  same,  that  our 
helpfulness  to  humanity  is  in  the  ratio  of  our 
obedience  to  these  three  requirements.  Nor,  in  the 
light  of  reason,  can  any  man  hope  to  answer  the  de- 
sign of  his  creation  in  glorifying  God  and  enjoying 
him  forever  except  as  he  brings  himself  into  harmony 
with  the  administration  of  this  trinity  of  statutes. 
To  ignore  them  is  to  despise  the  counterpart  of  our 
being,  and  to  make  life  fruitless  of  good. 

If  all  the  laws  of  the  sacred  canon  are  thus  hap- 
pily summed  up  in  the  three  words  justice^  mercy, 
humility,  are  not  the  requirements  of  the  Bible 
brought  down  to  the  capacity  of  the  weakest 
mind  ?  And  if  the  entire  canon  of  divine  law  is 
thus  given  in  an  abridged  form,  then  who  will  fail 
to  observe  that  all  the  laws  of  the  Bible,  in  detail, 
applicable  to  mankind,  are  but  the  duplicate  of 
man's  necessities,  in  his  relationship  to  himself,  to  his 
kind,  and  to  his  Creator  ?  Only  let  all  men  be  just 
to  themselves,  to  their  families,  to  their  neighbors, 
to  the  world,  and  what  a  relief  would  come  to  our 
overburdened  humanity !  Add  to  the  grace  of 
justice  that  of  mercy,  not  only  to  our  friends  but  to 
our  enemies  as  well, — mercy  to  the  strong  and  to  the 
weak,  to  all  mankind,  and  the  rest  of  the  animate 
universe  as  well, — and  the  Eden  of  innocence  will 
be  restored.  Who  so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  the 
divine  laws  of  justice  and  mercy  embrace  the  entire 
catalogue  of  God's  moral  statutes?  If  these  be 
faithfully  observed,  the  world's  wilderness  of   woe 


l62  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

and  solitary  places  of  sadness  shall  be  glad,  "  and 
the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose."  If 
justice  and  mercy  comprise  all  the  moral  obligations 
that  are  embraced  in  the  code  of  the  Bible,  so 
likewise  do  the  words  "  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  " 
present  a  complete  summary  of  all  the  religious  re- 
quirements that  can  be  found  in  the  Bible. 

Suppose  that  all  the  laws  of  the  sacred  canon, 
both  prohibitory  and  obligatory,  may  be  resolved 
back  into  the  duties  involved  in  the  verse  quoted  ; 
suppose  that  there  is  no  law  in  the  Bible  of  gen- 
eral application  that  materially  antagonizes  those 
requirements  of  justice,  mercy,  and  humility  ;  sup- 
pose that  we  discover  that  this  code  of  law  is  not 
only  made  in  the  interest  of  man  and  society,  but 
in  addition  it  has  been  made  so  perfect  in  its  entire- 
ty that  human  reason  fails  to  be  able  to  add  to  its 
perfection,  as  it  also  fails  to  be  able  to  deduct  a 
single  law  from  the  code  without  marring  it  as  a 
whole :  must  we  not  further  suppose  that  the  Crea- 
tor, who  made  the  soul  and  designed  society,  is  also 
the  Author  of  this  ordinance  of  morals  and  religion 
which  so  perfectly  duplicates  man's  necessities, 
especially  when  we  remember  that  its  nature  and 
completeness  had,  during  the  ages,  baffled  the 
world's  wisdom  ? 

It  may  be  claimed  that,  however  complete  this 
summary  of  law,  and  however  perfect  in  its  adapt- 
edness  to  the  nature  of  man,  yet  it  is  not  proof 
positive  of  its  divine  origin.     Besides,  it  may  be 


THE   BIBLE  A  BOOK   OF   REVEALED   LAW.      163 

urged  that  the  prophet  Micah,  in  presenting  his  per- 
fect synopsis  of  human  duty,  only  gave  expres- 
sion to  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  We  are  therefore  called  upon  to  trace  this 
completed  epitome  of  morals  and  religion  to  its 
original  source. 

SECTION   (IV). 

Old  Testament  Laws  of  Divine  Origin. 

In  the  task  before  us  we  select  the  Decalogue,  as 
synoptical  and  perfect  in  its  digest  of  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  Old  Testament.  Besides,  Moses  claims 
that  he  received  those  ten  commandments  directly 
from  the  Almighty.  To  deny  this  claim,  as  we  shall 
seek  to  show,  is  to  concede  the  greater  miracle.  He 
that  assumes  to  deny  that  Moses  obtained  this  mar- 
velous code  of  law  at  the  hand  of  God  has  taken 
upon  himself  the  duty  of  explaining  to  the  world 
when  and  where  he  did  get  it.  And  it  may  be  ob- 
served that  he  who  performs  this  Herculean  task 
shall  have  done  what  the  wisdom  of  over  three  thou- 
sand years  has  not  been  able  to  do.  To  see  that 
the  points  to  be  assailed  are  as  the  immovable  hills, 
we  must  consider,  first,  the  nature  of  those  laws ; 
second,  their  arrangement  and  completeness ;  and 
third,  the  testimony  existing  as  to  their  divinity  of 
origin. 

(i)  Consider  the  nature  of  the  Decalogue.  In 
looking  into  the  character  of  these  ten  command- 
ments, we  shall  consider  them  in  their  adaptability 


164  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

to  the  nature  of  man  and  the  wants  of  society.  If 
in  the  light  of  reason  it  could  be  shown  that  the 
world  has  been  made  neither  wiser  nor  better  by  their 
introduction,  this  fact  alone  would  bar  all  evidence 
of  their  divinity  of  origin.  But  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  are  found  to  be  absolutely  indispensable 
to  the  well-being  of  mankind,  this  alone,  as  pre- 
viously suggested,  will  corroborate  the  claim  of  their 
Author.  As  the  logic  of  their  arrangement  seems 
to  be  marvelously  perfect,  we  shall  therefore  ex- 
amine the  nature  of  these  commandments,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  stand. 

(a)  The  first  law  seeks  to  establish  the  thought 
of  the  unity  of  God.  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God, 
which  have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage.  Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  me."  In  their  worship  they  were 
to  have  no  god  in  their  minds  but  the  Infinite, 
whose  benevolent  providence  had  been  their  shield, 
guide,  and  support.  To  appreciate  the  absolute 
necessity  of  this  law  and  its  position  in  the  Deca- 
locrue.  we  must  consider  the  condition  of  mankind 
at  the  time  it  was  given. 

When  the  doctrine  of  One  God  was  announced 
amid  the  thunders  of  Mount  Sinai,  it  was  as  new 
and  as  unexpected  to  the  world,  except  to  the  Israel- 
ites, as  if  the  sun  had  burst  forth  in  all  his  resplen- 
dent glory  at  the  hour  of  midnight.  Human  wis- 
dom during  all  the  preceding  generations  had  only 
drifted  farther  and  farther  from  this  sublime  thought, 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF  REVEALED   LAW.     165 

which  is  now  known  to  be  fundamental  to  every 
step  in  the  divine  plan  of  saving  a  lost  race.  To  us 
it  may  seem  marvelously  strange,  but  it  is  neverthe- 
less true,  that  human  wisdom,  not  ignorance^  leads 
to  the  doctrine  of  "■  gods  many  and  lords  many." 
Nor  can  we  imagine  the  wide-spread  degradation  and 
the  heart-sickening  sacrifices  to  which  mankind  were 
led  through  the  influences  of  polytheism.  If  our 
minds  can  only  compass  the  horrible  condition  of 
the  world  at  the  time  Moses  ascended  the  mount 
to  commune  with  God,  we  shall  then  comprehend 
something  of  the  infinite  importance  of  this  law,  and 
clearly  see  why  it  is  placed  first  in  this  divine  cata- 
logue, which  is  as  marvelous  as  it  is  sublime. 

(b)  The  next  law  prohibits  the  sin  of  Idola^y. 
**  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image, 
nor  any  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven  above, 
or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath."  In  studying  these 
commandments  in  their  adaptability  to  man's  ne- 
cessities we  shall  observe  the  divinity  of  their  ar- 
rangement. It  will  be  clearly  seen  that  this  law  is 
not  only  second  in  the  order,  but  it  is  the  next  nat- 
ural step  in  the  divine  philosophy  of  establishing 
the  plan  of  salvation.  Unmixed  monotheism,  and 
a  thankful  remembrance  of  Him  from  whom  cometh 
all  good,  first ;  and  a  law  hurled  at  polytheism  and 
idolatry,  second.  To  see  the  absolute  necessity  of 
this  divine  statute  we  need  only  contemplate  the 
condition  of  the  human  race  under  the  degrading 
influence  of  idolatry.    In  our  chapters  on  "  Religion" 


1 66  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

Ave  have  sought  to  show  that  man  is  instinctively 
rehgious — that  of  necessity  his  moral  character  is 
intensified  in  the  likeness  of  that  of  the  being 
worshiped.  And  as  it  is  impossible  in  the  nature 
of  things  that  man  should  be  able  to  give  better 
cTiaracter  to  the  gods  of  his  own  construction  than 
he  himself  possesses,  then  it  follows  that  under  the 
influence  of  idolatry  depravity  had  been  worshiping 
depravity,  until  the  ''whole  head  was  sick  and  the 
whole  heart  faint." 

Nor  was  it  possible  to  Hft  this  intolerable  burden 
of  idolatry  from  the  hearts  of  world-wide  humanity 
unless  the  object  of  their  worship  be  changed  from 
a  being  made  like  unto  sinful  man  into  one  of  infi- 
nite holiness  of  character.  Hence  this  second  law 
had  been  inoperative  but  for  the  one  that  had  gone 
before.  Every  human  effort  at  constructing  an  ob- 
ject of  worship  better  than  itself  of  necessity  fell 
within  the  line  of  its  own  finite  and  sinful  nature. 
The  history  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  es- 
tablishes the  truth  of  this  proposition,  and  clearly 
shows  that  the  fatherly  character  of  God,  as  pre- 
sented in  the  Bible,  could  never  have  originated  with 
selfish  man.  As  mankind  will  worship,  and  as  they 
could  not  construct  gods  better  than  themselves, 
the  only  way,  therefore,  to  destroy  idolatry  was  to 
present  the  world  with  a  being  of  supreme  excel- 
lence of  character.  It  is  this  sublime  truth  that 
Moses  pitted  against  polytheism  and  idolatry  ;  a 
truth  which  during  the  ages  has  been  steadily  roll- 


THE   BIBLE   A  BOOK   OF   REVEALED   LAW.      1 6/ 

ing  upon  the  feet,  legs,  and  body  of  the  horrid 
beast. 

(c)  The  third  law  prohibits  the  common  sin  of 
blasphemy.  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain."  The  Creator  would  not 
only  require  the  creature  to  have  no  other  being  be- 
fore him  as  an  object  of  worship,  but  such  should  be 
our  reverence  that  his  sacred  name  should  never  be 
used  except  in  the  spirit  of  veneration.  Can  we  re- 
flect upon  the  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness 
of  the  great  Father,  and  our  ignorance  and  utter 
helplessness  in  his  presence,  and  still  fail  to  see  the 
significance  of  this  law,  and  the  reason  why  it  should 
stand  in  the  Decalogue  just  where  it  does?  Such 
is  the  reasonableness  of  this  divine  requirement,  that 
we  conclude  that  nothing  but  the  spirit  of  reckless 
presumption  can  lead  to  its  violation.  In  the  light 
of  reason,  the  very  thought  of  the  Infinite  must  fill 
the  finite  with  awe  and  reverence.  The  very  spirit 
which  gives  rise  to  blasphemy  cannot  do  otherwise 
than  bring  down  the  curse  of  the  Almighty  and  tend 
to  dwarf  the  soul.  Experience  and  observation  es- 
tablish the  necessity  of  this  commandment.  And 
from  the  same  source  we  learn  the  infinite  advan- 
tage of  holding  the  sacred  name  of  God  in  the 
spirit  of  reverence  and  thanksgiving.  Both  Reason 
and  Revelation  teach  us  that  the  "  Lord  will  not 
hold  him  guiltless  who  taketh  his  name  in  vain." 

(^)  The  fourth  commandment  fixes  a  day  of  rest. 
"  Remember    the   Sabbath-day   to   keep    it   holy." 


1 68  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

**  There  is  abundant  evidence  from  history  that  the 
seventh  day  of  the  week  has  been  observed  from 
the  earhest  times  as  a  day  of  rest.  And  the  change 
from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  does  not  in  any 
degree  change  or  impair  the  obligation  to  sanctify 
a  seventh  part  of  our  time.  So  far  from  it,  the 
sacredness  and  glory  of  the  day  are  much  increased 
by  its  association  with  that  great  event  on  which  our 
hope  of  life  and  immortality  entirely  depends.  It 
seems  to  be  admitted  by  intelligent  men  of  every 
class  and  profession  that  the  observance  of  a  weekly 
day  of  rest  is  as  essential  to  our  intellectual  and 
physical  as  to  our  moral  and  spiritual  nature."  This 
law  finds  its  counterpart  in  the  necessity  of  man's 
nature.  As  certainly  as  sleep  is  a  necessity,  so  cer- 
tainly is  rest.  If  business,  labor,  or  study  must 
occupy  our  attention  for  six  days,  God  saw  that 
tired  nature  would  need  rest.  Hence  he  sanctified 
the  seventh  day,  and  made  it  to  be  "  kept  holy  unto 
the  Lord."  While  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  supersti- 
tious slavery  connected  with  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  yet  sensible  people  will  not  fail  to  see  its 
necessity,  nor  will  they  have  any  invincible  difficulty 
concerning  the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  spent. 

It  is  designed  to  be  a  day  of  rest  from  all  secular 
employments  except  works  of  charity  and  necessity. 
And  that  rest  be  cheerful  and  joyous,  the  day  should 
be  spent  in  holy  contemplation  of  Him  from  whom 
Cometh  every  good  and  perfect  gift.  Experience 
has  taught  us  that  if  we  thus  employ  the  one  seventh 


THE  BIBLE  A  BOOK  OF  REVEALED   LAW.     1 69 

of  our  time  as  God  appointed,  it  will  contribute 
both  to  our  spiritual  and  worldly  interests.  The 
dark  problems  of  "  Communism,"  "  Nihilism,"  and 
"  Dynamiteism"  will  be  once  and  forever  solved  if 
only  God's  law  of  the  Sabbath  be  observed  in  its 
letter  and  spirit.  Only  let  this  commandment 
which  issued  from  out  the  thunders  of  Mount  Sinai 
have  "  full  course,"  and  the  adjustment  of  labor  will 
no  longer  be  a  question  in  the  science  of  political 
economy.  The  evils  which  now  threaten  our  be- 
loved country  because  of  the  antagonism  between 
"  capital  and  labor"  would  soon  vanish  if  God's  law 
of  the  Sabbath  was  faithfully  kept.  With  continu- 
ous labor,  week  after  week  and  year  after  year,  we 
drift  too  far  from  God,  and  neglect  to  observe  his 
law  to  do  to  others  as  we  would  they  should  do  to 
us.  We  commend  to  the  consideration  of  politicians 
the  indispensable  necessity  of  restoring  the  fourth 
commandment. 

This  ends  the  first  table  of  the  Decalogue,  and  has 
reference  only  to  the  requirements  of  religion,  or 
man's  relation  and  duty  to  his  Creator.  These  four 
commandments,  both  as  to  their  nature  and  method, 
beautifully  and  forcibly  set  forth  man's  kinship  to 
God  and  the  sacred  obligations  which  grow  out  of 
such  relationship.  And  while  the  accumulated  wis- 
dom of  the  past  three  thousand  years  and  more  at- 
tests their  divinity  of  origin,  the  present  advanced  and 
future  advancing  ages  of  civilization  will  go  to  con- 
firm and  forever  establish  the  infinite  blessedness  of 


I/O  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

these  laws.  The  second  table  of  the  law  points  out 
the  obligation  of  man  to  man.  Here,  again,  we 
shall  observe  a  logic  which  cannot  be  improved  upon 
and  a  code  of  law  which  forever  bars  the  possibility 
of  a  human  improvement  of  it. 

(e)  The  fifth  law  defines  the  obligations  of  children 
to  parents.  And  can  anything  be  more  reasonable 
than  the  command,  "  Honor  thy  father  and  mother"  ? 
Moreover,  such  is  our  nature,  that  if  a  man  fails 
to  honor  his  mother  with  love,  it  is  not  only  im- 
possible for  him  to  honor  God,  but  his  pretension 
to  love  his  wife  must  of  necessity  be  hypocritical.  If 
a  woman  fails  to  love  her  father,  she  too  is  inevi- 
tably doomed  to  coldness  and  indifference  toward 
God  and  her  husband.  This  is  the  divine  starting- 
point  of  noblest  manhood  and  womanhood.  Thus 
we  observe  that  if  we  are  ever  to  learn  to  honor  and 
love  Supreme  Excellence,  we  must  begin  by  obeying 
the  divine  command,  **  Honor  thy  father  and  mother." 
Any  pretension  to  love  God,  when  there  is  no  love 
for  parents,  must  be  regarded  as  hypocritical. 

(/)  The  sixth  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
kill,"  prohibits  the  greatest  wrong  that  one  man  can 
perpetrate  upon  the  person  of  another.  And  as  the 
lesser  is  implied  in  the  greater,  man  is  here  forbidden 
to  inflict  injury,  however  small,  against  the  person 
of  any  man.  The  justness  of  this  law  is  patent  upon 
its  very  face.  Moreover,  the  history  of  our  vicious 
humanity  illustrates  the  necessity  of  this  command- 
ment, and  the  importance  of  its  enforcement. 


THE  BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF   REVEALED    LAW.      I /I 

(£■)  The  seventh,  **  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adul- 
tery," cannot,  in  the  very  nature  of  society,  be  vio- 
lated without  destroying  the  foundation  of  domestic 
happiness,  and  hence  the  peace  of  organized  com- 
munities. The  family  home,  held  together  by  the 
sacred  ties  of  kinship's  love,  must  be  regarded  as  the 
foundation  of  all  civil  government.  Only  let  the 
purity  of  home  be  preserved,  and  the  experiment 
of  republican  government,  v^rhich  seeks  to  protect 
man  in  all  his  God-given  rights,  will  soon  become  an 
accomplished  fact. 

Nor  can  any  one,  whatever  may  be  his  arrogant 
boastings,  disregard  this  domestic  law  without  bring- 
ing down  the  curse  of  God  upon  himself  and  family. 
Illustrations  of  this  truth  are  altogether  too  numer- 
ous  for  the  good  of  our  commonwealth.  Free  love, 
in  all  its  forms  of  libertinism,  only  illustrates  the 
sickening  fact  that  it  is  wonderfully  human  in  its 
origin  and  most  dreadfully  devilish  in  its  results. 

(k)  The  eighth  law,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  recog- 
nizes the  personal  right  of  property.  And  here  as 
elsewhere,  as  the  whole  includes  its  parts,  this  com- 
mandment forbids  man  to  trespass,  in  any  wise, 
upon  the  property  of  another.  But  for  the  existence 
of  this  law,  with  the  wicked  and  selfish  tendencies^ 
of  man's  nature,  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as 
material  prosperity.  And  if  the  restraining  influences 
of  this  law  were  lifted  from  society,  it  would  be  one 
great  stroke  tending  to  sweep  from  our  God-favored 
country  the   evidences  of  Christian  civilization,  by 


1/2  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

« 

giving    loose    reins    to    the   bad    angel   of    man's 
nature. 

(J)  The  ninth  commandment,  "Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness,"  is  a  necessity  to  protect  man's 
good  name.  God  would  not  only  guard  our  person, 
our  virtue,  and  our  property,  but  also  shield  our  rep- 
utation, which  we  should  esteem  above  all  value. 
He  who  regards  not  his  personal  character  as  above 
the  price  of  all  earthly  blessings  will  become  in- 
famous because  of  a  fundamental  defect  in  his  men- 
tal organism.  The  soul  gives  it  normal  expression 
in  the  words  of  Shakespeare : 

"  He  who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash  ;  .  ,  . 
But  he  who  filches  from  me  my  good  name 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him, 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

Moreover,  lying  is  not  only  an  injustice  to  others, 
but  it  rebounds  with  redoubled  injury  upon  the 
man  who  bears  false  witness.  Such  is  the  moral 
government  of  God,  that  as  we  add  most  to  our  own 
happiness  while  seeking  to  make  others  happy,  so 
while  lying  to  make  others  miserable  we  make  our- 
selves the  more  wretched.  God  would  not  only 
have  us  earnestly  seek  after  a  good  name  and 
tenaciously  cling  to  it  when  once  obtained,  but  he 
would  protect  us  in  its  blessed  possession  by  enact- 
ing this  prohibitory  law. 

{j)  The  tenth  and  last  commandment  goes  back 
upon  our  thoughts — '^  Thou  shalt  not  covet."  As 
man    cannot   look   into   the   heart   and    know   the 


THE  BIBLE  A   BOOK   OF  REVEALED   LAW.     1 73 

thoughts  and  intents  of  the  mind,  he  must  there- 
fore legislate  only  for  the  overt  act.  But  as  God 
knows  the  very  secret  thoughts  which  give  rise  to 
words  and  deeds ;  and  as  he  has  determined  that 
these  secret  thoughts,  as  well  as  these  words  and 
deeds,  are  to  pass  the  ordeal  of  "  a  judgment  to 
come" — he  has  hence  made  a  law  for  the  destruction 
of  sin  in  its  very  beginning.  Thus  we  observe  that 
this  moral  code  begins  with  childhood,  putting  it  into 
the  line  of  noblest  manhood,  and  then  proceeds 
with  a  series  of  prohibitory  laws,  having  the  sub- 
lime view  of  protecting  mankind  in  all  their  natural 
rights  of  life,  chastity,  property,  and  character. 

(2)  Consider  the  arrangement  and  completeness. — 
Examining  into  the  "  nature  "  of  these  ten  com- 
mandments in  their  adaptedness  to  the  inherent 
needs  of  man  and  the  wants  of  society,  we 
cannot  fail  to  see  their  completeness  both  as  to 
matter  and  method.  No  logician,  however  perfect, 
need  undertake  to  correct  the  arrangement  of  these 
laws.  The  logic  is  simply  perfect.  Moreover,  we 
cannot  take  one  of  these  laws  from  the  ten  without 
marring  the  whole,  nor  can  we  make  any  more  per- 
fect by  adding  thereto.  It  is  simply  a  perfect  whole, 
the  like  of  which  the  world  had  never  seen ;  nor  can 
its  equal  in  method,  perfectness,  and  adaptedness  to 
the  needs  of  man  and  the  wants  of  society  be  found 
in  the  literature  of  the  world.  The  effort  at  criticis- 
ing the  arrangement  of  the  Decalogue,  by  adding 
thereto  or  deducting  therefrom,  has  led  to  the  con- 


1/4  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

version  of  many  an  honest  and  intelligent  infidel, 
in  that  he  discovered  the  document  to  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  human  criticism.  It  was  left  for  Him 
who  established  the  new  and  spiritual  dispensation 
to  give  to  the  world  the  ''  eleventh  law," — that  of 
love,  which  is  the  fulfillment  of  all  law  and  the  end 
of  all  revelation. 

(3)  Cofisider  their  possible  origin. — The  question 
arises,  Where  did  Moses  get  this  complete  and  per- 
fect summary  of  law  ?  Certainly  not  from  observa- 
tion ;  for  the  people, — all  the  people  on  the  globe, — his- 
tory tells  us,  were  given  to  polytheism  and  idolatry. 
Not  from  philosophy,  for  philosophy  as  then  under- 
stood taught  the  exact  opposite  of  theism.  More- 
over, Moses  made  no  pretensions  to  philosophy. 
Certainly  not  from  the  best  system  of  ancient 
morality.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  had  given  their 
people  the  best  system  of  ethics  the  world  had  ever 
seen.  And  yet  Lycurgus,  one  of  their  conceded 
leaders  in  military  reform,  and  whose  system  of 
political  economy  was  in  many  respects  helpful  to 
Sparta — even  he  taught  his  people  to  steal,  and  or- 
dained that  weak  children  should  be  put  to  death. 
Alclbiades  practiced  incest ;  and  Solon,  who  then 
was  and  even  now  is  looked  upon  as  their  best  and 
greatest  moral  teacher,  allowed  in  his  laws  that  there 
should  be  *'  brothels  and  prostitution." 

When  we  look  back  into  the  days  of  Moses  and 
observe  that  their  best  men  were  teaching  and  prac- 
ticing   these    loathsome,  detestable,  and  sickening 


THE   BIBLE   A   BOOK   OF   REVEALED    LAW.      1 75 

crimes,  and  see  the  awful  degradation  into  which 
they  had  plunged  our  race,  and  then  turn  our  eyes 
in  the  other  direction  and  see  grand  old  Moses 
standing  up  in  the  very  midst  of  this  thick  moral 
darkness,  and  that,  too,  in  the  presence  of  a  nation 
of  superstitious  slaves,  proclaiming  to  a  benighted 
world  a  code  of  moral  and  religious  law  so  abso- 
lutely perfect  that  the  accumulated  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  succeeding  ages  have  not  been  able  to 
detect  a  single  flaw,  nor  add  one  tithe  to  its  sym- 
metrical beauty  and  perfection, — we  say  the  mar- 
velous picture,  as  it  passes  in  review  before  our 
minds,  brings  us  up  to  the  very  summit  of  that 
burning  mountain  where  God,  from  the  midst  of  the 
cloud  of  smoke  and  thunderings  of  Sinai,  gave  to 
Moses  a  law  which  should  be  for  the  glory  and  bless- 
ing of  all  people  down  to  all  time.  No  man  who 
understands  the  moral  degradation  of  our  race  in 
the  days  of  Moses  can  study  and  comprehend  the 
Decalogue  and  come  out  an  honest  infidel. 

Besides,  we  are  to  remember  that  the  Decalogue 
is  but  another  single  link  in  the  unbroken  chain  of 
marvelous  events  which  occurred  under  Moses  in 
his  relation  as  leader  of  Israel.  And  still  further,  he 
makes  no  pretensions  to  originality,  but  proclaims 
to  Israel  and  to  the  rest  of  the  world  that  these  laws 
are  of  divine  origin.  To  regard  his  testimony  as 
false  is  to  conclude  that  the  best  code  of  moral 
science  the  world  ever  saw  rests  upon  the  founda- 
tion of  a  lie. 


176  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON. 

Section  (I).  Faith  —  how  established. —  Section  (II).  Mistaken 
judgment. — Section  (III).  Mistaken  interpretation. —  Section 
(IV).  Mistaken  verbal  criticism. — Section  (V).  Reason  not  to 
be  subordinated. — Section  (VI).  Interpretation  the  personal 
right  and  duty  of  all. 

SECTION  (l). 
Faith — how  established. 

Testimony  is  the  groundwork  of  faith.  There  is 
and  can  be  no  intelligent  faith  without  evidence. 
As  well  suppose  that  a  man  can  form  an  intelligent 
conception  of  various  colors  without  the  organ  of 
vision,  as  that  the  mind  can  exercise  an  enlightened 
faith  without  testimony.  Neither  can  there  be  evi- 
dence unless  comprehended  by  the  mind.  Testi- 
mony may  be  offered,  and  even  understood  by  many, 
but  to  the  mind  that  fails  to  understand  it  there 
remains  nothing  but  a  blank.  Evidence  sufficient 
to  establish  guilt  may  be  offered  in  a  court ;  but  if 
the  testimony  be  given  in  a  foreign  language,  the 
court  has  no  right  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation. Faith,  therefore,  rests  not  only  upon 
testimony,  but  upon  such  testimony  as  may  be 
clearly  comprehended  by  human  reason. 

Moreover,  the  increasing  strength  of  faith  is  in  the 


THE   BIBLE   AS    RELATED   TO    REASON.         1/7 

ratio  of  the  increasing  testimony.  The  sum  of  our 
conviction  is  the  measure  of  the  evidence  which  the 
mind  comprehends.  While  the  court  may  be  half 
doubting  and  half  believing  as  to  the  guilt  of  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar,  there  comes  additional  testimony, 
which  removes  the  last  reasonable  doubt,  and  fixes  a 
conviction  firm  as  a  rock. 

And  still  further :  faith  may  be  the  result  of  one  or 
the  other  or  both  of  two  classes  of  facts,  viz.,  external 
and  internal.  The  former  comes  through  sensation  ; 
the  latter  is  the  result  of  reflection.  One  is  external 
observation  ;  the  other  is  internal  experience.  There 
need  be  no  antagonism,  however,  between  these  two 
classes  of  facts,  nor  yet  between  the  two  kinds  of 
testimony  which  go  to  establish  them ;  but  rather, 
as  with  all  truth,  there  should  be  perfect  harmony, 
each  helping  to  strengthen  the  force  or  modify  the 
extravagance  of  the  other. 

So  in  matters  of  religion :  faith  may  and  of  right 
should  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  twofold  tes- 
timony of  objective  ^xi^  subjective  twidQViCQ',  and  that, 
too,  more  especially  for  the  reason  that  spiritual 
truth,  in  the  nature  of  things,  is  largely  a  matter  of 
experience,  A  conclusion,  therefore,  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  revelation  based  upon  purely  external  testi- 
mony, without  regard  to  the  evidence  of  internal 
experience,  may  be  entirely  dissipated  when  all  the 
available  testimony  is  in.  Reason  asks  for  "a  stay 
of  judgment,"  until  both  the  objective  and  subjec- 
tive testimony  have  been  heard. 


178  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Subjective  testimony,  being  nothing  short  of  the 
mind's  own  consciousness,  is  not  only  evidence  which 
the  mind  can  comprehend,  but  it  is  of  the  most  con- 
vincing character.  What  faith  so  strong  as  that 
based  upon  the  experiences  of  consciousness?  Faith, 
however,  founded  only  upon  subjective  testimony 
may  be  and  often  is  wholly  blind  as  to  the  external 
facts.  Illustrations  of  this  are  not  wanting,  if  we 
look  into  the  history  of  heathen  mythology.  The 
polytheist  may  think  that  he  has  clear  and  honest 
convictions  of  the  existence  of  the  various  gods  that 
he  worships.  But  these  convictions  may  and  will 
be  dissipated  by  the  presentation  of  external  facts. 
Hence  it  is  that  much  of  the  faith  of  mythology 
will  not  stand  the  test  of  enlightened  reason. 
Religion,  if  true,  will  not  only  endure  the  light  of 
scientific  facts,  but  it  courts  their  favor  and  is  greatly 
helped  by  their  presence.  True  science  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  touchstone  of  the  true  and  the  false 
of  all  the  religions  of  the  world.  The  unity  of  the 
universe,  and  the  consequent  unity  of  God,  may  be 
regarded  as  fixed  facts  of  science.  As  science,  like  all 
truth,  is  never  contradictory,  so  likewise  nature  and 
revelation  must  and  will  harmonize.  Our  faith, 
therefore,  in  the  Bible's  divinity  of  origin  must  rest 
not  on  subjective  evidence  alone,  but,  if  we  would 
be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  us, 
we  must  also  have  objective  testimony, — both  con- 
scious conviction  and  external  facts.  In  the  absence 
of  this  twofold  testimony  our  conclusion  on  a  sub- 


THE   BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         1 79 

ject  of  religion  will  be  either  heartless  or  super- 
stitious. 

For  it  is  equally  obvious  that,  as  the  subjective 
evidence  of  religious  truth  may  be  dissipated  by  the 
presentation  of  external  facts,  so  also  the  seemingly 
objective  testimony  must  often  give  way  to  internal 
consciousness.  External  things  are  not  always  what 
they  seem  to  be.  Much,  very  much,  depends  upon 
the  internal  condition  of  the  mind  which  looks  out 
upon  those  external  things.  Two  men  may  look  at 
the  same  object,  and  to  one  it  is  most  beautiful, 
while  to  the  other  it  is  hideous.  To  the  stoical 
heart  there  is  no  evidence  of  beauty  and  glory,  while 
to  the  Christian  philosopher  "  the  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his 
handiwork."  The  astronomer  may  stand  in  the 
midst  of  the  great ''  power  hall  "of  the  universe,  and 
watch  the  revolving  worlds  as  they  proclaim  the 
wisdom,  power,  glory,  and  boundless  love  of  the  In- 
finite, and  yet  if  there  be  no  corresponding  spirit  of 
love  in  his  heart,  to  him  ''  there  is  no  speech  nor 
language  :  their  voice  is  not  heard." 

SECTION  (11). 

Mistaken  Judgment, 

The  concession  of  the  foregoing  facts  makes  it 
apparent  that  the  infidel  at  best  is  only  half  compe- 
tent to  criticise  the  Bible's  divinity  of  origin.  The 
head  is  incompetent  because  of  the  heart's  inexperi- 


l80  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

ence.  If  it  be  conceded  that,  as  a  matter  of  philoso- 
phy, human  reason  may,  and  of  right  should,  be 
enlightened  on  the  subject  of  revelation  by  the  two- 
fold testimony  of  external  facts  and  internal  expe- 
rience, then  the  conclusion  reached  only  through 
•objective  evidence  must  of  necessity  be  ex  partem 
and  hence  wholly  unreliable. 

While  there  is  and  can  be  no  contradiction  between 
science  and  revelation  if  rightly  understood,  it  must 
be  distinctly  observed  that  they  present  two  entirely 
distinct  fields  of  thought.  While  nature  offers  to 
the  intellect  nothing  but  abstract  science,  revelation 
comes  to  the  heart  with  moral  and  spiritual  truth. 
It  is  thus  that  God  would  meet  the  necessities  of 
man's  two-sided  nature.  The  mind  obtains  abstract 
science  largely  if  not  mainly  through  objective  tes- 
timony, while  it  receives  spiritual  truth  largely  if 
not  mainly  through  subjective  evidence.  One  is 
chiefly  the  result  of  external  observation  ;  the  other 
eminently  that  of  internal  experience. 

As  science  differs  from  spiritual  truth,  so  also  the 
process  by  which  we  obtain  the  one  is  different  from 
that  by  which  we  receive  the  other.  The  law  of 
the  intellect  is  one  thing,  while  the  law  of  the  spirit 
is  quite  another  thing.  It  is  the  **  law  of  the  spirit 
of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  "  by  which  we  are  able  to 
judge  of  spiritual  things.  It  is  a  philosophical  as 
well  as  a  Biblical  truth,  that  "the  natural  man 
receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him  :  neither  can  he  know 


THE   BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         l8l 

them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  That 
is,  the  conviction  arising  in  the  carnal  mind  from 
objective  testimony  may  be  altogether  changed  by 
the  presentation  of  subjective  evidence :  external 
theorizing  may  give  way  to  internal  experience. 
So  before  the  infidel  can  become  a  competent 
critic  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  he  must  first 
obey  the  divine  injunction,  "  If  any  man  will  do  His 
will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of 
God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself."  If  there  be  a 
godly  infidel,  let  him  step  to  the  front,  and  his  tes- 
timony on  the  subject  of  spiritual  truth  will  challenge 
the  respect  of  Christian  philosophers  whose  reason 
demands  the  twofold  testimony  of  objective  and 
subjective  truth.  Spiritual  truth  must  not  be  judged 
by  a  court  before  which  nothing  but  ex-parte  testi- 
mony is  heard.  Better  that  the  judge  decide  the 
question  of  "■  life  or  death"  when  he  has  heard  but 
one  side  of  the  testimony,  than  that  the  world  should 
be  robbed  of  its  richest  treasure  by  the  sacrilegious 
hand  of  such  one-sided  pseudo-criticism. 

Moreover,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  subjective  evi- 
dence of  godliness  has  always  been,  and  always  will 
be,  the  dissipation  of  infidelity's  objective  testimony. 
The  criticism  of  a  heartless  intellect  cannot  stand  in 
the  presence  of  the  soul's  richest  and  deepest  expe- 
rience. At  best,  the  mere  theory  of  the  head  as  com- 
pared with  the  knowledge  of  the  heart  is  like  the 
chaff  which  the  wind  driveth  away.  Let  the  infidel, 
therefore,  show  proof  of  the  experience  of  godliness 


1 82  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

before   he  offers  his  testimony  on  the  subject   of 
"  Reason  and  Revelation." 

The  foregoing  philosophical  facts  clearly  justify 
Professor  Stowe's  scathing  criticism,  where  he  says  : 
"  Nor  do  I  believe  that  an  irreverent,  ungodly  critic 
16  the  man  to  do  justice  to  the  Gospels,  or  tell  the 
truth  about  them  fairly,  in  any  sense.     He  may  in- 
vestigate their  language,  examine  their  history,  and 
give  correctly  the  results  of  his  verbal  criticisms  ; 
but  the  real  substance  of  the  Gospels  is  far  above, 
out  of  his   sight :  he    can  have  no  sympathy  with 
Christ  ;  he  can  have  no  conceptions  of  the  motives 
which  influenced  the  Apostles  ;  he  can  have  no  idea 
of  the   feelings  which  animated  the  sacred  writers ; 
he  is  a  total  stranger  to  the  whole  soul  of  that  which 
he  criticises.     When  a  man  who  has  never  seen  can 
accurately  describe  colors,  or  one  who  has  never  had 
the  sense  of  hearing  can   give  a  good  account  of 
sounds,  or  a  horse  with  iron-shod  hoofs  can  play 
tunes  on  a  church-organ,  then  will   I   not  refuse  to 
believe  that  an   ungodly   critic   can  write  a  reliable 
book  on  the  New  Testament.     It  is  only  the  very 
lowest  part  of  the  work  that  such  a  critic  can  per- 
form ;  and  when  he  comes  to  the  higher  criticism, 
the  interior  life  of  the  word,  he  is  wholly  out  of  his 
sphere.     How  can  a  man  with  no  poetry  in  his  soul 
review  a  poem  ?     How  can  a  man  with  no  mathemat- 
ics properly  estimate  a  treatise  on  fluxions  ?  How 
can  one  destitute  of  the  first  principles  of  taste  be  a 
critic  in  the  fine  arts  ?     And  how  can  a  man  wholly 


THE   BIBLE   AS    RELATED   TO    REASON.         1 83 

irreligious  be  a  fit  judge  of  the  most  religious  of  all 
books?  .  .  .  We  will  not  idolize  intellect  which  has 
no  heart,  nor  allow  profane  hands  to  filch  from  us 
our  choicest  treasures."  It  is  the  cold  intellect  with 
no  loving  heart  which  has  for  all  these  years  been 
setting  up  the  Bible  as  "  a  man  of  straw,"  while 
reason,  enlightened  only  by  objective  testimony, 
which  is  purely  one-sided,  has  been  shooting  its 
missiles  at  a  creature  of  its  own  creation.  God  in- 
tended that  a  man  should  have  a  heart  as  well  as  a 
head,  and  that  by  their  united  testimony  Reason 
and  Revelation  should  go  hand  in  hand. 

If  the  foregoing  suggestions  be  in  keeping  with 
the  facts  of  mental  science,  then  may  infidelity  be  dis- 
posed of  by  the  following  syllogism : 

(i)  Before  the  infidel's  testimony  on  subjects  of 
moral  and  spiritual  truth  be  entitled  to  respectful 
consideration,  his  reason  must  have  been  enlight- 
ened by  the  twofold  evidence  of  objective  and  sub- 
jective testimony  ; 

(2)  But  the  infidel  lays  no  claim  to  any  such  two- 
fold enlightment ; 

(3)  Therefore  the  infidel's  testimony  touching  the 
Bible's  divinity  of  origin  is  not  entitled  to  intelli- 
gent consideration. 

SECTION  (ill). 

Mistaken  Interpretation. 

The  Bible  has  been  made  a  text-book  of  science, 
and   has   been    criticised  accordingly.     The  sacred 


1 84  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

pages  have  been  read  and  studied  as  if  the  para- 
mount object  of  revelation  was  to  make  known  the 
facts  of  geology,  astronomy,  and  philosophy.  For 
the  two  following  reasons,  we  aver  that  it  was  no 
part  of  the  object  of  revelation  to  make  known  the 
^  facts  of  science,  much  less  its  paramount  object :  First, 
God  discovers  to  man  by  direct  revelation  only 
such  truths  as,  in  the  absence  of  such  direct  revela- 
tion, are  beyond  human  reach.  But  the  facts  of 
history  have  clearly  shown  that  man,  without  any 
such  direct  divine  interposition,  has  been  competent 
to  the  task  of  discovering  the  facts  of  geology,  as- 
tronomy, and  philosophy.  Therefore  we  are  not  at 
liberty  to  suppose  that  science  is  any  part  of  reve- 
lation. 

Secondly,  God  discovers  to  man  by  direct  revela- 
tion only  such  truth  as  will  elevate  and  save  the 
race.  But  observation  and  experience  have  clearly 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  mere  abstract  science,  in 
the  absence  of  moral  and  spiritual  truth,  does  not 
tend  to  the  development  of  a  perfect  symmetrical 
manhood.  Therefore  the  revelation  of  moral  and 
spiritual  truth  was  a  necessity  to  man.  God  having 
thus  supplied  to  man  through  revelation  the  neces- 
sary saving  truths  of  morality  and  religion,  science 
becomes  henceforth  not  only  the  mind's  natural  at- 
tainment, but  even  the  handmaid  of  religion — as  it 
has  ever  proved  to  be.  Intelligence  is  ever  the  pre- 
cursor and  handmaid  of  Christianity. 

On  account  of  failure  to  make  the  obvious  distinc- 


THE  BIBLE   AS   RELATED   TO    REASON.         185 

tion  between  the  facts  of  science  and  the  truths  of 
revelation,  there  has  been  great  labor  of  mind  in 
seeking  to  reconcile  the  discrepancies  between  Gene- 
sis and  geology.      It  has  been  assumed  that  Moses 
was  inspired  to  tell  the  date  of  creation,  and  the 
exact  number  of  days  required  to  complete  the  sub- 
lime work  of  making  the  sun,  stars,  planets,  and  sat- 
ellites of  the  solar  system.     But  the  sacred  author 
does  not  even  attempt  to  fix  the  time  when  God 
made  the  heavens  and  the  earth.     He    only  says, 
**  In  the  beginningGod  created  " — that  is, in  the  indefi- 
nite past.     It  may  have  been  thousands  or  even  mil- 
lions of  years  ago.     Moses  in  this  expression  makes 
no  pretension  to  know  as  to  the  time  when  ''  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."     As  men  at  that 
time  almost  universally  believed  that  creation  was 
the  work  of   a  vast   number  of    gods,  Moses  only 
wishes  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  "  One  God''  was 
the  direct  Creator  of  all  things.     As  to  the  time  re- 
quired in  the  great  work  of  creation,  he  only  uses 
the  words  **  Yo7n  Ehhad  "—day  one,  or  one  day.    He 
does  not  stop  to  explain  as  to  whether  he  means  a 
day  of  twenty-four  hours  or  a  ''day  of  very  long 
period."     He  leaves  the  world's  wisdom  to  speculate 
upon  that, — as  perhaps  it  may  have  been  doing  for 
ages  preceding  his  time.   The  only  fact  that  he  states 
is  that  creation  was  but  a  succession  of  results  aris- 
ing from  the  wisdom  and  power  of  ''  One  God,"  as 
against  the  notions  of  polytheism. 

As  the  thought  of  the  Unity,  of  God  and  the  con- 


1 86  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

sequent  unity  of  the  universe  were  fundamental  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  religion  which  should 
eventually  root  out  all  forms  of  error,  we  may  readily 
suppose  that  this  man  of  God  made  reference  to 
science  only  by  way  of  accommodating  himself  to 
the  prejudices  of  those  whom  he  would  educate  up 
into  the  sublimer  thought  of  ''One  God"  as  the 
Creator  of  all  things  both  animate  and  inanimate. 

Having  made  the  Bible  what  God  never  intended 
it  to  be,  the  task  of  adverse  criticism  has  gone  on. 
Not  only  infidelity  but  even  Christianity  has  worried 
itself  over  the  discrepancies  of  Genesis  and  geology. 
As  if  geology  was  all  or  even  a  part  of  revelation ! 
God  knew  that  man  by  searching  could  find  out  the 
facts  of  geology;  hence  it  was  no  part  of  the  mis- 
sion of  Moses  to  reveal  them  to  him.  "  Man's  ex- 
tremity is  God's  opportunity."  When  we  cease  to 
look  in  the  Bible  for  that  which  God  never  put  there 
we  shall  find  no  invincible  difificulty  in  learning  the 
great  spiritual  truths  of  revelation.  We  may  con- 
cede that  Moses  knew  Httle  or  nothing  of  the  science 
of  geology,  and  yet  maintain,  in  the  light  of  all  the 
accumulated  wisdom  of  the  ages,  that  he  knew  more 
of  God  than  all  the  world  beside. 

When  "the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God," 
there  was  an  opportunity  and  a  necessity  for  a  divine 
utterance.  The  world's  wisdom,  so  far  from  dis- 
covering God,  had  led  to  the  worship  of  ''gods 
many  and  lords  many."  As  the  fact  of  one  infinite 
Creator  is  not  only  at  the  foundation  of  all  religious 


THE    BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         iS^' 

homogeneousness,  but  also  the  center  of  all  natural 
science  as  well,  polytheism  was  sapping  the  very 
foundation  of  all  truth.  Hence  the  divine  method 
was  to  begin,  not  with  geology,  but  with  the  source 
of  all  science  and  the  foundation  of  all  true  religion. 
Moses  was  divinely  charged  to  stand  in  the  presence 
of  a  polytheistic  world  and  uncompromisingly  de- 
clare, "  Hear,  O  Israel :  the  Lord  Jehovah  our  God 
is  One  Lord." 

Genesis  is  not  an  anticipated  thought  on  geology, 
which  the  world's  wisdom  may  supersede,  but  it 
is  the  mighty  and  all-comprehensive  thought  of 
"  God,"  to  w^hich  the  world  has  been  coming  for 
over  three  thousand  years,  and  toward  which  it  w^ill 
advance  through  the  cycles  of  an  endless  age. 

The  infidel's  man  of  straw  is  the  Bible  as  a  book  of 
geology,  of  astronomy,  and  of  philosophy;  while  the 
intelligent  Christian's  man  of  "  flesh  and  blood  "  is 
the  Bible  as  a  revelation  of  the  character,  attributes, 
and  will  of  God — of  the  nature,  origin,  duty,  and 
destiny  of  man.  And  we  can  safely  say,  in  the 
light  of  history,  that  these  are  truths  which  the 
world's  wisdom  had  utterly  failed  to  comprehend, 
but  truths  which  the  Bible  has  set  forth  so  clearly 
and  fully  that  all  the  scholarship  of  the  nineteenth 
century  has  not  been  able  to  shed  an  additional  ray 
upon  them.  Against  these  truths,  fundamental  and 
indispensable  to  the  civilization  and  elevation  of  our 
race,  infidelity  may  continue  to  hurl  its  missiles,  but 
with  no  more  hope  of  success  than  the  bellowing 


1 88  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

bull  of  Bashan  might  hope  to  blow  out  the  sun. 
Though  it  were  granted  that  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  chapters  of  Genesis  is,  in 
the  light  of  modern  science,  absolutely  irreconcilable, 
still  it  may  readily  be  supposed  that  Moses  was 
more  than  willing  to  make  use  of  different  or  even 
discordant  views  as  to  the  details  of  creation,  if  by 
so  doing  he  could  dissipate  the  world-wide  curse  of 
polytheism,  and  establish  the  fact  that  one  God,  and 
not  many,  was  the  absolute  Creator  of  all  the  varied 
phenomena  of  the  universe  both  animate  and  inani- 
mate. Being  surcharged  with  the  only  one  supreme 
thought  of  God,  like  Paul,  he  was  willing  to  be  "  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  by  all  means  save 
some." 

The  Bible  deals  not  with  the  details  of  human 
ignorance,  but  it  seeks  rather  to  establish  a  funda- 
mental truth,  and  thus  in  process  of  time  dissipate 
all  forms  of  error.  To  predicate  truth  in  detailed 
particulars  upon  an  uncertain  foundation  is  to  build 
the  house  upon  the  sand,  only  to  topple  and  fall 
when  the  floods  come.  Nor  does  the  Bible  go  into 
all  the  particulars  of  human  duty,  but  rather  its  chief 
object  is  to  inculcate  the  spirit  of  right  living.  The 
best  system  of  ethics  and  theology  the  world  ever 
saw  is  the  life  which  flows  out  from  a  loving  heart. 
That  the  streams  of  human  thought  and  life  might 
ultimately  become  pure,  the  divine  method  is 
thoroughly  to  cleanse  the  fountain.  Only  let  the 
rubbish  of  polytheism,  which  had  crushed  all  the 


THE   BIBLE   AS    RELATED   TO   REASON.         1 89 

families  of  the  earth,  be  swept  away,  and  the  funda- 
mental truth  of  one  God  be  laid  at  the  foundation, 
and  the  temple  of  truth  will  steadily  go  up  until  its 
base  shall  fill  the  earth  and  its  top  reach  to  the 
skies. 

We  might  concede  then,  if  need  be,  that  Moses 
knew  nothing  more  of  the  details  of  the  created 
universe  than  his  countrymen,  and  yet  maintain 
that  he  was  a  messenger  in  the  hand  of  God  to  bear 
a  message  from  heaven  to  earth  that  must  be  con- 
ceded to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  our  present 
advanced  and  future  advancing  ages  of  civilization. 

What  has  been  said  touching  Moses  and  the 
Pentateuch  may  be  said  also  of  all  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  their  authors.  Suppose  that 
Joshua  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  science  of  as- 
tronomy :  his  ignorance  did  not  hinder  him  from 
being  a  messenger  of  God  in  establishing  honesty  by 
making  an  example  of  the  hypocritical  and  treach- 
erous Achan,  and  in  hurling  the  divine  thunderbolts 
against  the  most  degrading  idolatry  of  the  ancient 
Canaanites.  And  even  suppose  that  the  Oriental 
and  graphic  poetry  about  the  sun  standing  still 
(Josh.  X  :  12,  13) — which,  by  the  way,  are  not  the 
words  of  Joshua,  nor  of  the  author  of  the  book, 
whoever  he  maybe  ;  but  of  an  unknown  poet  called 
Jasher — will  not  endure  the  ordeal  of  our  cold 
Western  scientific  criticism,  does  that  in  any  wise 
affect  the  great  fact  of  history,  that  Joshua  was  in- 
strumental in  the  hands  of  God  in  driving  out  those 


IQO  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

wicked  nations  whose  degradation  was  complete, 
whose  cup  of  iniquity  was  full,  and  whose  impious 
and  abominable  wickedness  loudly  cried  to  heaven 
for  divine  removal? 

Is  it  objected  that  such  bloody  war  was  a  cruel 
outrage  upon  the  rights  of  those  people?  We 
answer:  It  is  just  like  God  to  sweep  off  the  wicked, 
and  thereby  wickedness,  by  pestilence  or  otherwise, 
and  thus  give  place  to  the  righteous  and  righteous- 
ness. Seemingly  cruel  death  often  comes  as  the  im- 
mediate result  of  violated  law,  even  upon  those  who 
have  not  offended.  Instead  of  pestilence  or  famine, 
Joshua  served  the  double  purpose  of  preparing  the 
way  and  establishing  a  nation  whose  theocracy 
would  dissipate  the  polytheism  and  corruption  of 
the  Canaanitish  nations,  and  lay  the  foundation  of 
a  ''religion  of  progress  and  universal  unity." 

In  the  defense  of  the  Bible,  no  one  need  claim 
that  Joshua  or  any  of  the  sacred  writers  was  om- 
niscient, or  even  good  authority  in  art,  science,  or 
literature.  It  is  quite  enough  to  know  that  these 
men  of  God  were  divinely  charged  with  the  duty  of 
making  known  to  our  race  only  such  truths  as  were 
fundamental  to  the  well-being  of  mankind,  and  such, 
too,  as  the  experience  of  three  thousand  years  had 
proved  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  human  grasp. 
Whatever  superstition  may  require,  certainly  reason 
does  not  demand  that  in  defending  the  Bible  we 
should  claim  for  the  sacred  authors  that  which  they 
never  claimed  for  themselves.     It  is  in  this  special 


THE   BIBLE   AS    RELATED    TO    REASON.         I9I 

particular  and  for  this  stereotyped  reason  that  the 
sacred  Scriptures  have  suffered  more  in  the  house  of 
their  pretended  friends  than  in  that  of  their  avowed 
enemies.  Their  allusions  to  physical  fact  were  ob- 
viously more  for  the  purpose  of  illustration  than  of 
scientific  statement.  As  suggested,  they  deal  with 
fundamental  spiritual  truth,  which  if  believed  and 
obeyed  must  eventually  correct  all  mistakes,  and 
fill  the  world  with  truth  and  righteousness. 

While  Paul  could  clearly  comprehend  the  divine 
logic  by  which  he  could  write  the  Book  of  Romans, 
in  which  he  sets  forth  the  relation  of  the  creature  to 
the  Creator,  and  the  obligations  imposed  by  such 
sacred  relation  to  love  and  obey  God ;  while  he 
could  show  that  in  the  presence  of  the  universal 
Father  there  was  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  but  all 
children  of  a  common  origin  ;  while  he  could  point 
out  the  relation  of  man  to  universal  man,  and  the 
consequent  obligation  of  helping  each  other  up  into 
a  nobler  manhood ;  while  all  these  truths,  funda- 
mental in  binding  man  to  man  and  the  race  back  to 
God,  were  divinely  set  forth,  Paul  made  no  pre- 
tensions to  any  art  but  that  of  tent-making.  Nor 
did  his  divine  commission  require  that  he  should  be 
able  to  construct  a  telescope  or  number  the  stars. 
A  man  may  be  eminently  qualified  by  divine  ap- 
pointment to  comprehend  and  reveal  spiritual  truth, 
and  yet  be  entirely  ignorant  as  to  the  methods  of 
constructing  a  kaleidoscope  or  of  making  a  steam- 
engine.     So,  on  the  other  hand,  a  man  may  know 


192  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

very  much  of  geology  and  the  stars,  and  yet  have 
but  precious  little  knowledge  of  the  character  and 
requirements  of  God,  or  of  the  duty  and  destiny  of 
man. 

Biblical  criticism  should  proceed  upon  the  claims 
which  the  sacred  Scriptures  have  made  for  them- 
selves, and  not  upon  the  claims  which  men  have 
superstitiously  made  for  them.  Every  effort  at  de- 
fending the  Bible  other  than  as  a  book  of  spiritual 
truth  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  prove  a  hinder- 
ance  rather  than  a  help. 

Granting,  if  need  be,  that  the  sacred  writers  knew 
nothing  more  of  art,  science,  and  literature  than 
was  taught  in  their  day :  the  sublime  truths  which 
they  were  commissioned  to  reveal  will  not  only  stand 
all  the  more  secure,  but  by  the  very  comparison 
they  will  appear  all  the  more  beautiful.  With  the 
seeming  view  of  impressing  us  with  the  infinite  sub- 
limity of  spiritual  truth,  "  God  hath  chosen  the 
foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise : 
and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty :  and  base 
things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to 
bring  to  naught  things  which  are  :  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  his  presence."  Had  science  dis- 
covered to  the  world  the  moral  and  spiritual  truths 
of  the  Bible,  then  man  might  have  had  whereof  to 
boast. 

Certainly  Reason  must  regard  Revelation  as  man's 


THE   BIBLE    AS    RELATED    TO    REASON.         I93 

necessity  and  God's  opportunity.  Only  necessity 
and  incompetency  on  the  part  of  man  will  God  sup- 
plement. In  the  discovery  of  science  there  was  no 
necessity  of  divine  help  other  than  that  which  God 
gives  to  every  earnest  seeker  after  truth  ;  but  not  so 
in  regard  to  moral  and  spiritual  truth.  We  only 
voice  the  facts  of  history  when  we  say  that  the 
world's  increasing  wisdom  in  science  was  only  equaled 
by  its  growing  ignorance  of  God.  Egypt,  the  mother 
of  science,  was  most  prolific  in  her  multiplication  of 
deities,  and  her  constantly  increasing  idolatry,  su- 
perstition, and  consequent  degradation;  while  in 
Athens,  the  metropolis  of  learning,  their  vocabulary 
of  names  was  not  equal  to  the  number  of  their  gods. 
When  the  resources  of  the  worldly-wise  were  ex- 
hausted, and  the  race  was  rapidly  tending  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  infamy  and  ruin.  Divinity  inter- 
posed. ''  When  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God, 
it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to 
save  them  that  believed." 

SECTION   (IV). 

Mistaken  Verbal  Criticism. 

Infidelity,  as  it  flatters  itself,  having  disposed  of 
the  Bible  as  a  book  of  science  (which  it  nowhere 
claims  to  be),  next  proceeds  to  the  task  of  verbal 
criticism.  And  here  again  we  find  the  *'  man  of 
straw."  Reason,  in  accepting  the  Bible  as  contain- 
ing a  revelation  from  God,  does  not  demand  that 
13 


194  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  inspired  authors  should  have  been  always 
divinely  perfect  in  the  use  of  language  or  in  the 
choice  of  their  illustrations  of  the  truth  which  had 
been  divinely  given  to  them.  To  do  this  would  be 
not  only  to  destroy  individuality  in  the  use  of  speech 
and  imagery,  but  to  suppose  that  each  and  all  of 
these  authors  used  the  best  possible  words,  and  in 
every  case  made  choice  of  the  most  happy  illustra- 
tions in  conveying  the  divine  thought.  But  this  the 
meagerness  of  the  Hebrew  language,  however 
graphic  it  might  be,  rendered  impossible. 

And  this  concession,  so  far  from  reflecting  upon 
the  fundamental  truths  of  revelation,  only  imparts 
new  luster  to  the  divine  thought,  as  in  contrast 
with  the  imperfections  of  human  speech  and  im- 
agery. We  readily  imagine  that  God's  saving  truth 
is  as  far  beyond  the  limits  of  man's  speech  as  the 
heavens  are  above  the  earth  ;  but  the  finite  mind 
can  comprehend  nothing  more  of  this  infinite  truth 
than  can  be  conveyed  by  human  language.  Hence 
it  is  that  speech  and  illustration  must,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  be  adapted  to  the  varied  capacity  of  hu- 
man understanding.  And  as  we  go  on  to  compre- 
hend more  and  more  of  these  sublime  truths  of  rev- 
elation touching  God,  duty,  and  destiny,  so  will 
human  speech  and  imagery  be  transformed  more 
and  more  into  the  likeness  of  the  divine  thought. 
God  implants  an  instinctive  love  in  the  mind  of  the 
parent,  and  then  allows  the  mother  to  use  such 
words  and  illustrations  as  in  her  judgment  will  best 


THE   BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.  I95 

convey  that  loving  thought  to  the  mind  of  the 
child.  So  the  heavenly  method  of  educating  a  race 
up  to  the  sublime  truths  of  revelation  is  to  fill  the 
mind  with  the  thoughts  of  saving  grace,  and  then 
allow  it  to  choose  its  own  methods  of  conveying 
those  thoughts.  Yet  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  human 
method  of  conveying  the  divine  thought  has  in  no 
essential  particular  marred  the  sacred  truth  ;  and 
this  for  the  obvious  reason  that  when  the  mind  has 
once  clearly  comprehended  the  truth  it  finds  no  in- 
superable difficulty  in  conveying  that  truth  to  others. 
"  Human  minds  are  unlike  in  the  impressions  which 
they  receive  from  the  same  word  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  one  man  seldom  gives  to  another,  of  different 
temperament,  education,  and  habits  of  thought,  by 
language,  exactly  the  same  idea,  with  the  same  shape 
and  color,  as  that  which  lies  in  his  own  mind  ;  yet 
if  men  are  honest  and  right-minded  they  can  come 
near  enough  to  each  other's  meaning  for  all  purposes 
of  practical  utility"  (Stowe  :  "  Books  of  the  Bible"). 
Hence,  as  there  was  no  necessity  for  the  inspiration 
of  language  and  illustration,  it  is  enough  to  believe 
that  *'  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved 
by  the  Holy  Spirit." 

Besides,  saving  truth  was  to  be  conveyed  to  an 
infinite  variety  of  minds,  and  it  appears  most  reason- 
able that  the  divine  purpose  would  be  best  attained 
by  allowing  each  of  the  inspired  writers  to  main- 
tain his  personal  individuality  in  the  use  of  words 
and  explanations.     No  stereotyped  method  of  in- 


196  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

struction  is  best  adapted  to  all  ages  and  to  all 
countries.  It  always  has  been,  is  now,  and  always 
will  be  true,  that  a  variety  of  style  in  the  use  of  lan- 
guage and  illustration  can  best  meet  the  necessities 
of  the  public  mind.  God  has  met  this  necessity  in 
allowing  the  sacred  writers  to  maintain  their  indi- 
viduality. Verbal  criticism  has  discovered  to  us 
peculiarities  of  style  in  the  writings  of  Moses,  Paul, 
John,  and  others  of  the  sacred  fraternity.  We  de- 
termine the  author  of  a  sacred  book  largely  by  his 
style  of  utterance.  This  is  a  fact  conceded  by  all 
Biblical  critics.  And  yet  the  concession  means  to 
admit  that  the  authors  of  the  Scriptures,  having 
received  from  God  spiritual  truth  which  human 
effort  could  not  attain,  were  then  left  free  to  con- 
vey that  truth  by  just  such  methods  as  were  at 
their  command.  Hence  the  Biblical  student  must 
not  look  for  verbal  exactness,  even  in  the  original 
manuscript,  if  we  had  it, — much  less  in  any  of  the 
various  copies  and  translations  therefrom. 

But  even  though  the  words  and  imagery  as  well 
as  the  spiritual  truth  were  originally  the  direct  gift 
of  God,  unless  we  suppose  the  divine  hand  to  have 
equally  directed  the  translation  of  the  original  from 
language  to  language,  however  perfect  the  first  copy, 
the  succeeding  versions  have  all  been  more  or  less 
subject  to  mutilation  by  human  hands.  It  is  cer- 
tainly obvious  that  if  verbal  correctness  was  a  ne- 
cessity with  the  first  manuscript,  it  was  equally 
a  necessity  in  after  translations.      If  not,   then  it 


THE   BIBLE   AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         I97 

would  seem  that  only  a  part,  and  that  a  very  small 
part,  of  the  world  has  been  favored  with  an  unmixed 
revelation.  If  the  divine  plan  of  saving  a  race  in- 
volved the  necessity  of  not  only  revealing  spiritual, 
truth,  but  language  and  imagery  as  well,  it  would 
seem  to  have  failed  of  its  purpose,  unless  the  work 
of  inspiring  speech  and  illustration  be  continued  from 
language  to  language  and  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. 

But  such  a  supposition  is  as  groundless  as  it  is 
needless.  The  necessities  of  the  world  were  divine- 
ly supplied  when  the  fundamental  truths  of  saving 
grace  had  been  clearly  made  known.  As  the  sug- 
gestions of  this  section  not  only  dispose  of  the  in- 
fidel's ''  man  of  straw,"  but  remove  a  difficulty  over 
which  intelligent  Christians  have  had  no  little  worry, 
it  is  important  that  they  be  distinctly  understood. 
We  therefore  dismiss  the  subject  of  verbal  criticism 
with  the  following  syllogistic  propositions : 

(i)  God  directly  inspires  no  man  with  that  which 
the  human  mind  can  obtain  without  such  divine  in- 
terposition. 

(2)  Purely  human  effort  can  obtain  language  and 
illustration  to  convey  any  truth  which  the  mind 
clearly  comprehends. 

(3)  Therefore,  inspiration  having  given  to  the 
mind  of  the  sacred  writers  a  clear  comprehension  of 
spiritual  truth,  the  language  and  imagery  are  no  part 
of  revelation. 

It   only  remains  to  be   observed  that  while  the 


198  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

doctrine  of  the  verbal  inspiration  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures came  out  into  the  light  of  the  Reformation 
decked  in  the  costume  of  the  dark  ages,  and  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Church  as  fundamental  to  orthodoxy, 
it  has,  nevertheless,  in  passing  through  the  ordeal  of 
sense  and  reason  been  "stripped  of  much  of  its 
plumage,"  so  that  its  former  self  is  not  now  recog- 
nized as  the  standard  of  the  higher  and  better  criti- 
cism. This  is  the  view  entertained  by  Dr.  Stowe, 
whose  orthodoxy  no  one  will  question.  After  giv- 
ing some  illustrations  of  differences  of  reading  in 
the  different  manuscripts,  he  says :  **  Nor  do  they  in 
the  least  degree  necessarily  change  or  even  modify 
our  ideas  respecting  any  scriptural  fact,  doctrine, 
or  precept.  They  somewhat  disturb  those  who 
hold  the  notion  of  a  strictly  verbal  inspiration,  and 
exact  verbuin  verbo  dictation  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  composition  of  the  Scriptures ;  but  these  I  sup- 
pose are  very  few  in  number,  and  not  the  most 
thoughtful  or  intelligent."  ("Books  of  the  Bible,"  p. 
79.)  At  least  we  must  conclude  that  the  process  of 
eliminating  the  superstitious  from  the  true  is  not 
complete. 

SECTION  (V). 

Reason  not  to  be  Subordinated. 

Human  reason  is  the  touchstone  to  the  Bible, 
both  as  to  its  origin  and  its  interpretation.  Every 
effort  at  subordinating  reason  has  been  at  the  ex- 


THE   BIBLE   AS   RELATED   TO    REASON.         1 99 

pense  of  the  Bible  and  in  the  interest  of  a  vulgar 
superstition.     The   sacred    book   is    nothing    more 
than  the    Koran    or   the   Zend-a-vesta ;    nor   is   its 
language  anything  else  than  the  foolish  gibberish  of 
a  foreign  tongue,  except  as  it  is  adjudged  at  the  bar 
of  reason.     The  plainest  matter  of  fact  is  that  we  re- 
ceive the  Bible  as  the  book  of  God  in  one  of  two 
ways:  either,  first,  reason  is  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  revelation  on  the  ground  of  objective  and  sub- 
jective testimony,  or,  secondly,  we  blindly  receive  it 
on  the  "  say-so"  of  somebody  else,  whose  traditional 
blindness  may  have  been  transmitted  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.     Such  credulous  assumption  has 
been  the  bane  of   revelation  and  the  curse  of  the 
Church.     Wicked  men  ''  love  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil."     So  likewise  a 
false  religion  can  only  be  perpetuated  by  dwelling 
under  the  shadow  of  a  dark  superstition.     Nor  can 
the  nightmare  of  religious  falsehood  be  dissipated  ex- 
cept by  the  introduction  of  religious  truth.     But  the 
price  of  such  truth  is  "  eternal  vigilance."     Nature 
is  most  sparing  of  her  best  gifts.     If  we  would  stand 
upon  the  hill  of  science,  we  must  not  sit  at  its  base 
hoping  to  be  carried  to  its  top  by  the  hand  of  an- 
other ;  but  we  must  chisel  out  every  niche  into  which 
we  place  our  feet,  and  thus,  by  dint  of  our  own  ef- 
fort, stand  upon  the  summit,  achieving  a  personal 
victory.     So  likewise  if  we  would  stand  as  the  peer 
with  angels,  looking  into  the    face   of  the    infinite 
Father  and  exploring  the  endless  fields  of  spiritual 


200  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

truth,  we  must  not,  with  stupid  credulity,  accept  the 
Bible  on  the  blind  say-so  of  tradition,  but  we  must 
make  use  of  our  best  and  most  enlightened  reason. 

Show  us  the  most  pitiful  little  soul  that  has  ever 
disgraced  our  holy  religion,  and  we  will  point  you  to 
the  man  who,  under  the  blighting  influence  of  credul- 
ity, has  committed  the  keeping  of  his  thoughts  to 
the  hand  of  the  priest  or  Church.  Write  the  his- 
tory of  the  man  who  has  challenged  the  hatred  of 
wicked  men  and  moved  the  world  God-ward,  and  it 
will  be  but  the  biography  of  him  whose  enlightened 
reason  has  accepted  the  Bible  on  the  ground  of  its 
overwhelming  testimony.  Little  faith  is  the  child 
of  little  effort,  while  great  faith  is  born  of  great 
travail  of  soul. 

From  this  it  would  seem  that  God  would  not 
stultify  reason,  his  best  gift  to  man,  by  requiring 
the  present  generation  to  accept  the  Bible  as  a 
divine  book  on  the  ground  of  its  great  antiquity, 
and  for  the  reason  that  it  has  been  so  accepted  by 
the  best  scholarship  of  the  world.  This  may,  of 
right,  be  received  as  evidence  a  priori^  and  yet  such 
antecedent  probability  might  be  wholly  dissipated 
by  the  facts  of  objective  history. 

Nor  are  we  required  to  accept  the  Bible  as  of 
divine  origin  on  the  ground  that  it  has  developed  a 
spirit  of  large  benevolence  and  universal  philan- 
thropy, such  as  the  world  never  saw.  Even  infi- 
delity must  allow  that  the  central  thought  of  Bible 
religion  is    *'love  to  God  and  love  to  man,"  and 


THE  BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         201 

that,  despite  both  ignorance  and  bad  blood,  it  has 
built  up  asylums  for  the  poor  and   helpless   of  the 
great  family,  and  stretched  out  its  arms  to  lift  up 
the  fallen   and   to  elevate  and   civilize  the  race  in  a 
way  that,  outside  of  Christianity,  was  never  known 
under   the    sun.     This,  too,  is   strong   presumptive 
evidence   in  favor   of   revelation,  but    the    price    of 
such  testimony  is  too  cheap  to  be  of  greatest  value. 
Thus  the  Bible,  by  the  very  mystery  with   which 
it  is  surrounded,  challenges  our  reason  on  to  sterner 
effort.      As   previously  suggested,   we   are    not   at 
liberty  to  reject  revelation  until  reason  has  been  en- 
lightened by  all  the  available  testimony,  both  objec- 
tive and  subjective.     Nor  are  we  required  to  receive 
it  on   any  less  grounds.     God  says,  "  Come,  let  us 
reason  together."     And  he  that   refuses  to  accept 
the  heavenly  invitation   must  rest  under  the  curse 
of  a  degrading  superstition,  or  else  (what  is  no  bet- 
ter) through  moral  cowardice  accept  the  Bible  at  the 
hand  of  another.     In  this  age  of  infidelity  and  wide-  \ 
spread  skepticism    there  is  an  urgent   demand  for 
more    reason    and    less    stupid    credulity.      Christ, 
when    he    warns    his    disciples   against    impostors, 
would  encourage  the  most  thorough  investigation  as 
to    religious  truth.     It  must    be  obvious  to  every 
thoughtful   mind   that   the  very  question  of  '*  Bible 
or  no  Bible"  is  a  question  that  can  only  be  answered 
at  the  bar  of  reason.     Otherwise  the  hideous  mon- 
ster of  blind  superstition  will  settle  down  upon  the 
Church,  and  the  world  soon  be  deprived   of   that 


202  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

sacred  book  whose  highest  appeal  is  to  human 
reason,  and  whose  sublimest  object  is  to  bind  all 
hearts  together  and  all  souls  back  to  God. 

SECTION    (Vl). 
Interpretation  the  Personal  Right  and  Duty  of  all. 

Having  determined  the  question  of  '■'■  Bible  or  no 
Bible,"  it  is  the  province  of  human  reason  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  task  of  interpretation.  As  we  have  no 
means  of  determining  the  origin  of  the  sacred  books 
except  by  an  enlightened  reason,  so  neither  can  we 
know  the  "■  mind  of  the  Spirit "  but  by  the  "  spirit 
of  a  sound  mind."  All  else  is  the  assumption  of 
another's  faith  and  the  surrender  of  individual  man- 
hood. We  are  not  justified,  much  less  required,  to 
accept  these  sacred  books  as  explained  by  the  Church 
of  Rome  during  the  dark  ages,  nor  by  the  Protes- 
tant Church  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Any  such  re- 
quirement on  the  part  of  the  Church  or  individual  is 
sacrilegious  and  profane — robbing  God  of  his  truth 
and  the  soul  of  its  divine  rights. 

The  truth  of  this  proposition  is  clearly  seen  in  the 
light  of  a  twofold  testimony :  first,  while  the  indi- 
vidual conscience  was  disregarded,  and  the  common 
people  were  denied  the  right  of  reading  and  under- 
standing the  sacred  oracle,  each  for  himself,  history 
shows  that  the  world  was  proportionally  robbed  of 
the  Bible;  and,  secondly,  just  in  proportion  as  the 
many  have  been  required  to  submit  to  the  judgment 


THE   BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO   REASON.         20$ 

of  the  few  have  ignorance  and  stupidity  disgraced  the 
Church.  This  twofold  evil  has  been,  and  is  now,  a 
legacy  entailed  upon  the  Christian  religion  because 
of  a  gross  violation  of  the  divine  purpose.  God  has 
revealed  spiritual  truth,  not  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
nor  to  that  of  Protestantism,  but  revelation  has  been 
made  to  the  individual  soul,  to  one  as  to  another. 
**  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind^' 
and  not  in  that  of  another,  is  the  teaching  of  inspira- 
tion, as  it  is  the  philosophy  of  the  soul's  individual 
right.  Hence,  so  far  as  any  man  or  set  of  men  have, 
by  purpose  or  otherwise,  circumscribed  human  rea- 
son in  its  honest  search  after  God's  truth,  by  exactly 
so  much  it  has  been  an  insult  to  revelation  and  an 
outrage  to  the  individual  soul. 

Moreover,  that  God  has  made  a  revelation  not  to 
the  Church,  but  to  the  individual,  and  has  imposed 
with  it  the  right  and  duty  of  each  to  read  and  under- 
stand for  himself,  is  seen  not  only  in  the  fact  that 
every  abridgment  of  such  personal  right  has  been  at- 
tended with  a  twofold  evil,  but,  furthermore,  that  as 
the  Bible  contains  a  great  variety  of  truth,  so  there  is 
a  corresponding  diversity  in  the  world  of  mind  ;  thus 
indicating  that,  in  order  to  the  discovery  of  this  in- 
exhaustible treasure,  each  individual  mind  must  con- 
tribute his  part.  Though  the  sacred  book  has  been 
the  subject  of  profoundest  thought  for  more  than 
three  thousand  years,  it  remains  to  this  day  the 
storehouse  of  never-failing  truth.  It  is  in  this  that 
the  Bible  is  unUke  any  other  book.     The  orations  of 


204  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Cicero  the  Roman  orator,  the  teachings  of  Socrates 
the  sage  of  Athens,  the  wisest  books  of  the  wisest 
ages,  have  all  been  exhausted.  But  whose  self-as- 
sumption will  presume  to  say  that  he  has  scaled  the 
heights,  fathomed  the  depths,  and  comprehended 
the  broad  grasp  of  Biblical  truth  ?  He  that  truly 
comprehends  most  of  revelation  appears  in  his  own 
eyes  to  know  the  least,  while  he  who  arrogates  to 
himself  the  standard  of  completed  orthodoxy  may 
be  regarded  as  of  least  authority.  And  yet  nothing 
but  the  assumption  of  such  exhaustive  knowledge 
would  dare  to  say  to  the  honest  seeker  after  religious 
truth,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther." 

It  would  seem  then  that  the  most  enlightened  rea- 
son must  regard  the  Bible  as  the  book  of  all  books, 
in  that  it  comes  down  with  its  childlike  thoughts  to 
meet  the  necessities  of  the  most  feeble  mind,  and 
then  soars  aloft  to  challenge  the  profoundest  thought 
of  the  most  giant  intellect.  Imagine  a  scale  reach- 
ing from  the  weakest  up  to  the  mightiest  mind  of 
earth.  Mark  on  that  scale  every  degree  and  every 
millionth  part  of  a  degree,  and  you  will  find  men  in 
point  of  native  and  acquired  ability  occupying  every 
conceivable  point  on  that  long  scale.  Then  turn  to 
the  Bible  and  you  will  observe  that  religious  truth 
has  been  so  divinely  graded  as  to  exactly  meet  the 
necessities  of  each  of  these  individual  minds.  The 
Bible  in  this  peculiarity  has  nothing  approximately 
equal  save  the  old  book  of  Nature  written  by  the 
hand  of  the  same  Infinite  Author. 


THE   BIBLE   AS   RELATED   TO    REASON.         205 

But  if  that  truth,  so  eminently  adapted  to  the 
health  and  growth  of  that  individual  soul,  answers 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  given,  it  must  be 
honestly  sought  after  and  tenaciously  clung  to  by 
that  soul.  Objective  philosophy  cannot  measure 
the  mind's  capacity,  nor  can  any  system  of  theologi- 
cal manipulation  put  religious  truth  into  the  head. 
Nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  can  do  it  but  honest 
personal  effort.  To  interfere  with  this,  by  creed  or 
otherwise,  is  to  rob  God  and  commit  an  outrage 
upon  the  individual.  Better  stay  the  mind  in  its 
earnest  seeking  after  science  than  to  hedge  the  soul 
in  its  honest  ^'  feeling  after  God."  Were  it  possi- 
ble to  write  out  a  confession  of  faith,  in  the  most 
abridged  form,  embracing  all  the  truth  of  revelation, 
and  to  have  every  man  on  earth  tacitly  subscribe  to 
that  confession,  the  only  conceivable  result  would  be 
to  encourage  the  most  degraded  ignorance  and  to 
intensify  the  darkness  of  religious  superstition.  Let 
there  be  as  many  creeds  as  there  are  men  who  have 
the  ability  and  courage  to  think.  But  let  no  man  or 
set  of  men  trespass  upon  the  God-given  right  of 
another  by  assuming  to  put  metes  and  bounds  to 
his  theological  thinking,  whether  it  relates  to  Trinity, 
Depravity,  Atonement,  Baptism,  or  any  other  doc- 
trine of  disputed  theology. 

If,  then,  revelation  was  made  to  the  individual  and 
not  to  the  Church,  and  if,  furthermore,  religious  truth 
is  to  be  life  and  health  to  the  soul  because  of  honest 
personal  effort  in  obtaining  it,  then  the  obvious  duty 
of  the  Church  is  to  encourage  the  largest  possible 


206  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

personal  liberty  in  earnestly  and  honestly  seeking 
after  the  truth  of  God.  Instead  of  laboring  to  cram 
the  mind  with  a  dogmatic  theology  which  nobody 
can  understand,  let  the  pulpit  aim  to  excite  the 
spirit  of  individual  honest  investigation,  and  truth 
will  be  discovered,  the  soul  enlarged,  and  God  glori- 
fied. 

Nor  need  we  fear  that  such  liberty  will  jeopard- 
ize the  Bible  or  in  any  wise  endanger  the  truth 
of  revelation.  As  well  suppose  that  an  honest 
philosopher  will  endanger  science,  as  that  an  honest 
reader  of  the  Bible  will  endanger  that  sacred  book. 
The  danger  must  be  looked  for  in  the  other  direc- 
tion. The  bloody  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history 
show  that  it  is  repression  of  thought  that  stands 
as  a  menace  to  the  Bible's  religion  of  love,  and  as 
a  burning  outrage  upon  the  individual  conscience. 
The  spirit  of  dogmatism  has  not  only  encouraged  a 
vulgar  superstition  which  is  alike  soul-degrading  and 
God-dishonoring,  but  it  has  been  most  prolific  in  the 
production  of  infidelity. 

We  have  yet  to  learn  that  the  spirit  of  dictation 
as  to  what  an  honest  seeker  after  truth  shall  believe 
has  ever  been  productive  of  love  and  good-will ; 
rather  it  has  led  to  the  bitterest  hatred.  It  was  that 
which  burned  Michael  Servetus ;  and  it  is  the  same 
spirit,  in  kind  though  not  in  degree,  which  does  in 
this  more  enlightened  age  unchurch  a  man  for  no 
other  cause  than  that  of  his  honest  opinion  of  Bible 
truth.  This  effort  at  robbing  the  individual  soul  of 
its  divine  right,  and  sacrilegiously  constructing  reve- 


THE   BIBLE  AS   RELATED   TO    REASON.        207 

lation  into  a  yoke  by  which  to  bind  the  individual 
conscience,  has  led  even  thoughtful  men  to  say, 
"  Behold,  how  these  brethren  Jiate  one  another !" 
Infidelity  has  interpreted  the  Bible,  largely,  not  from 
what  it  says,  but  from  what  men  have  said  about  it ; 
not  from  what  it  is,  but  rather  from  the  spirit  and 
life  of  those  who  profess  its  faith.  The  intelligent 
reader  will  not  fail  to  observe  that  the  criticisms  of 
such  men  as  Paine  and  Voltaire  relate  largely  to 
popular  theories  of  interpretation  and  to  the  out- 
growths of  human  depravity,  rather  than  to  the 
Bible  in  the  light  of  reason.  When,  therefore,  the 
Church  shall  cease  from  publishing  a  theology  which 
stultifies  common-sense,  and  instead  thereof,  give  to 
the  world  an  open  Bible,  urging  the  right  and  duty 
of  each  to  read  and  understand  as  God  may  help  to 
understand ;  and  when  the  spirit  of  dogmatism, 
which  genders  strife,  contention,  and  often  the 
bitterest  animosity,  shall  become  a  thing  of  the  past, 
and  the  Church  shall  manifest  a  charity  as  broad  as 
our  humanity,  and  a  spirit  of  love  akin  to  that  of 
the  Divine  Redeemer,  then  shall  skepticism  retreat, 
and  infidelity  hide  itself  for  very  shame.  He  who 
would  unchristianize  his  brother  because  of  his 
opinion  touching  Bible  interpretation,  needs  to  re- 
member that  the  difference  is  mutual,  and  that  his 
crimination  leads  to  recrimination  and  endless  dis- 
putation. "  Hast  thou  faith?  have  it  to  thyself 
before  God."  Only  let  professed  Christianity  be- 
come Christianized,  and  the  days  of  honest  and 
intelligent  infidelity  will  be  numbered. 


PART  III. 
THEOLOGY. 

(i)  Agnosticism.— (ii)  Pantheism.— (iii)  Atheism. — (iv)  Theism. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

There  is  no  thought  coming  within  the  scope  of 
human  reason  that  is  so  vast  as  the  thought  of  God. 
It  is  the  foundation  of  all  true  religion  and  the 
center  of  all  natural  science,  simple  as  causation, 
and  yet  boundless  as  the  universe.  Words,  medita- 
tion, and  even  imagination  must  alike  fail  to  com- 
pass this  mighty  subject.  Like  science,  it  comes  to 
us  in  the  simplest  form,  and  then  stretches  out  far 
beyond  our  reach.  But  because  in  its  momentous 
outgoing  it  evades  our  grasp,  shall  we  therefore 
cease  our  efforts  to  ascend  its  heights?  If  so,  then 
thinking  is  vain,  for  all  thought  deals  with  mystery. 
Nay,  more,  every  step  in  advance  is  but  a  mystery 
solved.  Man's  mission  on  earth  seems  to  be  to  un- 
ravel the  numberless  threads  of  mystery.  And  as 
the  thought  of  God  is  the  mystery  of  all  mysteries, 
and  as  the  human  soul  seems  to  be  infinite  in  its 
capabilities,  we  may  well   imagine  that  man   is  to 


THEOLOGY.  209 

have  an  eternity  in  which  to  unravel  the  endless 
thread.  The  ceaseless  energies  of  the  Infinite  must 
of  necessity  forever  elude  the  comprehension  of  our 
grasp. 

Moreover,  the  thought  of  God  is  not  only  the 
greatest  of  all  thoughts,  but  it  is  of  more  practical 
importance  than  all  else  put  together.  We  have 
sought  to  show  (Part  I.,  Chap.  III.)  that  man's 
very  being,  for  weal  or  woe,  depends  upon  his  con- 
ception of  Deity.  As  we  have  limited  views  of  God, 
so  will  our  vision  of  human  possibilities  be  circum- 
scribed. But  if  we  have  an  exalted  conception  of 
the  Creator,  then  the  creature  will  be  correspond- 
ingly magnified.  Moreover,  if  we  regard  the  In- 
finite as  being  vindictive  and  hateful,  so  certainly  as 
effect  follows  cause  will  the  finite  become  tyrannical 
and  hateful.  But  if  we  conceive  of  God  as  a  being 
of  *'  too  pure  eyes  to  behold  iniquity,"  then  shall 
human  passions  be  bound,  and  the  soul  will  be 
nerved  to  a  life  of  active  purity. 

Nor   can   we   hope   to    escape   this    ever-present 
thought  of  God.     Though  it  were  true  that 

"Where  ignorance  is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise," 

we  are  not  at  liberty  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  bless- 
edness. If  we  seek  not  by  a  determined  effort  to 
obtain  an  exalted  view  of  God,  then  such  are  the 
environments  of  our  life  and  the  nature  of  our  being 
that  the  sordid  thought  will  possess  the  mind. 
14 


210  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Under  the  light  of  this  sentiment  we  may  clearly 
trace  the  steps  of  civilization.  The  most  degraded 
peoples  of  the  globe  are  those  whose  conceptions  of 
God  are  the  most  circumscribed.  Fetichism  is  the 
nearest  atheism  to  which  any  people  have  ever  been 
.  known  to  come  ;  and  the  moral  character  which  they 
have  attributed  to  their  fetiches  is  only  equaled 
by  their  degradation.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
greatest  measure  of  human  completeness  is  the  con- 
ception of  God  as  Father ;  and  the  sum  of  this 
thought  is  the  measure  of  the  highest  civilization 
known  to  our  race. 

As  the  thought  of  God  is  not  only  the  greatest  of 
all  and  the  most  practical  of  all,  and  a  thought, 
moreover,  that  will  impress  itself  upon  the  human 
mind  in  some  form  or  other,  so  the  privilege  of 
determining  the  character  of  that  conception  is  of 
infinite  moment. 

The  history  of  our  race  illustrates  two  facts:  first, 
that  without  mental  activity  we  are,  by  the  necessi- 
ties of  our  nature,  led  to  a  low  and  degrading  view 
of  the  Infinite;  secondly,  that  the  price  of  an  ex- 
alted and  elevating  conception  of  God  is  ''  eternal 
vigilance"  under  the  light  of  revelation.  And  this 
is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  law  of  compensation 
which  everywhere  prevails.  Its  results  are  clearly 
seen  in  all  the  departments  of  practical  life,  whether 
in  agriculture,  science,  art,  or  literature.  God  yields 
his  best  gifts  only  into  the  hand  of  unyielding  will 
and  indomitable  perseverance.     We  need  not  hope, 


THEOLOGY.  211 

therefore,  to  obtain  the  truth  of  all  truths  and  the 
blessing  of  all  blessings  with  folded  hands  and  a  soul 
of  sordid  indifference.  The  wisest  man  of  earth,  for 
all  that  enriches  human  nature,  is  the  man  who 
knows  most  of  the  true  character  of  God  and  the 
administration  of  his  divine  laws ;  while  the  man 
who  is  most  ignorant  of  all,  however  worldly-wise, 
is  the  man  \i^ho  knows  least  of  the  Creator  and  the 
uniform  methods  by  which  he  controls  man,  body 
and  soul.  And  he  who  exhibits  the  most  practical 
good  sense  is  the  man  who  has  succeeded  best  in 
bringing  himself,  physically  and  psychologically,  into 
the  most  perfect  harmony  with  the  administration 
of  the  laws  of  his  being;  while  the  most  stupid  and 
senseless  of  all  is  he  whose  infamous  life  is  an  open 
insult  to  the  Deity  and  an  outrage  upon  humanity. 
Therefore,  true  wisdom  and  practical  good  sense  are 
the  measures  of  our  knowledge  of  the  divine  char- 
acter and  our  obedience  to  his  will.  God  has  made 
it  so,  and  we  might  as  well  hope  to  drag  the  sun 
from  his  orbit  as  to  expect  to  make  it  otherwise. 

Having  said  so  much  as  to  the  vastness  of  this 
subject,  and  its  practical  bearing  upon  human  life, 
we  are  now  prepared  to  enter  upon  its  more  critical 
examination.  While  the  varied  phenomena  of  the 
universe,  as  so  many  results,  are  facts  universally 
conceded,  the  cause  or  causes  of  these  phenomena 
are  problems  which  in  the  mind  of  some  seem  diffi- 
cult to  solve. 

The  earth,  suns,  planets,  satellites,  and  a  world  of 


212  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

animated  beings  exist,  as  all  can  see.  The  question 
which  presses  for  an  answer  on  every  hand  is, 
Whence  are  all  these,  and  whither  do  they  tend? 
Are  they  from  eternity  and  to  eternity,  without 
causation?  The  time  was  when  these  questions 
Qiight  have  been  answered  in  the  affirmative,  for 
aught  that  was  known ;  but  now  these  inquiries  can- 
not thus  easily  be  disposed  of.  Science  has  clearly 
discovered  to  us  the  fact  that  not  only  animal  life 
upon  the  globe  is  of  comparatively  recent  date,  but 
even  the  earth  itself  is  known  to  have  had  a  be- 
ginning. Everything  with  which  we  are  surrounded, 
both  animate  and  inanimate,  bears  the  marks  of  time 
and  not  of  eternity.  Moreover,  worlds  are  going 
out  of  existence,  while  others  come  to  take  their 
place.  During  the  last  two  or  three  centuries  up- 
ward of  thirteen  fixed  stars  have  disappeared.  One 
of  them,  situated  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  pre- 
sented a  peculiar  brilliancy,  and  was  so  bright  as 
to  be  seen  by  the  naked  eye  at  midday.  La  Place 
supposes  that  it  was  burned  up,  as  it  has  never  been 
seen  since.  New  worlds  are  being  discovered  in 
such  position  as  to  indicate  their  recent  origin. 
Creation  is  going  on  now  as  ever  before.  A  world 
springs  into  being,  then  by  a  long  series  of  pro- 
gressive steps  it  reaches  its  highest  destiny.  And 
having  served  fully  the  divine  purpose,  it  may  col- 
lapse into  chaos  or  be  consumed — not  annihilated, 
but  reconstructed  into  higher  organisms ;  as  Kant 
has  well  said,  *'a  phoenix,  which  but  consumes  itself 


THEOLOGY.  21 3 

in  order  to  rise  rejuvenated  from  its  ashes."     Muta- 
bility as  to  organism  and   immutability  as  to  the 
grand  total  of  materials  which  are  ever  in  the  plastic 
hand  of  the  Infinite  Creator  is  the  law  which  seems 
to  pervade  the  universe.     All  about  us  we  see  in- 
numerable  vegetables  and   animals    springing    into 
hfe;  they  mature,  decay,  and  die,  to  be  replaced  by 
others.     *'  In   the    same    manner,"  says  Kant  {Hist, 
and  Theory  of  the  Heavens),''^' odds  and  systems  of 
worlds  perish  and  are  ingulfed  in  the  abyss  of  eterni- 
ty: meanwhile  creation  is  ever  active  to  erect  new 
structures  in  other  parts  of  the  heavens,  and  to  re- 
place the  loss  with  profit ;  and  if  a  system  of  worlds 
has,  in  the  course  of  its  duration,  exhausted  every 
variety  of  life  of  which  its  constitution  will  allow,— if 
it  has  become  a  superfluous  link  in  the  chain  of  be- 
ing,_then  nothing  can  be  more  fit  than  that  it  should 
now  play  its  last  part  in  the  drama  of  the  successive 
transformation   of    the    universe, — a    part  which    is 
but  the  due  of  every  finite  phenomenon— that  of 
rendering  its  tribute  to  mutability.     Creation  is  so 
infinite  that  we  may  unhesitatingly  regard  a  world  or 
a  galaxy  of  worlds  in  comparison  to  it  as  we  would 
a  flower  or  an  insect  as  compared  to  this  earth." 

All  analogy  suggests  that  as  our  world  has  had  a 
beginning  it  will  likewise  have  an  ending.  In  the 
economy  of  infinite  wisdom  it  will  play  its  part,  and 
then  contribute  its  due  to  the  never-ceasing  change. 
For  long,  long  ages  it  has  been  coming  up  through 
its  successive  stages  of  development.     In  the  com- 


214  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

ing  future  it  will  reach  its  zenith  of  perfection. 
Then,  at  the  hand  of  an  eternal  agency,  it  will  be 
transmuted  and  fashioned  into  a  likeness  of  superior 
glory.  So  we  cannot  say  "  these  phenomena  are 
from  eternity  to  eternity." 

Without  an  intelligent  doubt,  all  these  worlds  and 
animated  beings  had  a  beginning.  The  question  to 
be  solved  is,  By  whom  or  by  what  method  was 
this  beginning  accomplished? 

In  seeking  the  solution  of  this  question  not  less 
than  four  different  isms  have  been  advocated,  viz., 
Agnosticism,  Pantheism,  Atheism,  and  Theism. 

As  truth  is  made  more  transparent  by  comparison 
with  error,  we  shall  carefully  examine  these  different 
theories  of  creation  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER    X. 
AGNOSTICISM. 


The    theory. — In    what    true,    in    what    false. — Hegelianism. — 
Contradicted  by  experience. 

The  agnostic  theory  is,  that  while  all  the  varied 
phenomena  of  the  universe,  both  animate  and  inani- 
mate, may  be  accepted  as  the  direct  result  of  causa- 
tion, yet  such  is  the  nature  of  that  great  first  cause, 
that  it  is  not  only  unknown,  but  unknowable. 


AGNOSTICISM.  21 5 

The  Rev.  Warren  Hathaway  epitomizes  the  theory 
thus :  '*  The  agnostic,  or  know-nothing,  says,  Why 
talk  of  spirit  and  spirituaHties  ?  Why  talk  of  that 
which  no  science  nor  sense  can  reveal  ?  There  may 
be  a  God,  but  he  is  unknowable.  There  may  be  a 
heaven  and  immortality,  but  of  these  we  can  have 
no  knowledge,  no  assurance.  We  cannot  look  be- 
yond the  nature  of  tlmigs,  and  all  investigation  is 
bounded  by  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect,  forged  by 
necessity,  that  prevails  around  us." 

While  this  agnostic  statement  is  somewhat  com- 
plex, yet  it  may  be  as  intelligible  as  the  system  will 
allow.  If  it  means  only  to  say  that ''  God  is  unknow- 
able" in  the  sense  that  the  finite  mind  cannot  com- 
prehend the  Infinite  in  its  entirety,  nothing  can  be 
more  true.  Reverently  may  we  exclaim,  "  Who  can 
comprehend  the  attributes  of  infinity?  Who  can 
grasp  the  infinite  wisdom  that  guides  the  stars  in 
their  trackless  way?  Who  can  measure  the  power 
of  that  omnipotent  Heart  whose  mighty  throbbing 
pulsates  the  universe?  Who  can  look  into  the  vista 
of  the  past,  and  out  into  the  depths  of  the  future, 
and  grasp  the  thought  of  "  without  beginning  and 
without  ending"?  We  acknowledge  that  both 
**  science  and  sense"  unite  in  illustrating  the  utter 
impossibility  of  the  finite  comprehending  the  Infinite 
in  all  its  completeness. 

But  if  it  is  meant  to  say  that  *'  God  is  unknowable  " 
in  the  sense  that  the  creature  can  know  noihing  of 
the  Creator,  then  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  colossal 


2l6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

instance  of  baseless  assumption.  Every  discovery 
in  natural  science  is  but  a  revelation  of  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  contrivance.  And  the  measure  of  our 
discovery  of  this  contrivance  is  the  sum  of  our  ob- 
jective knowledge  of  the  infinite  contriver.  The 
more  we  learn  of  nature  and  its  laws,  the  more  we 
shall  know  of  God  and  his  methods.  Every  step- of 
coherent  thinking  reveals  the  presence  of  a  designing 
mind.  Moreover,  the  complete  adaptedness  of  the 
human  mind  to  the  discovery  of  these  methods 
would  seem  to  indicate  most  clearly  that  man's 
task,  for  time  and  eternity,  will  be  to  unravel  the 
thread  of  mystery  that  we  may  know  more  and 
more  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  the 
Infinite.  The  thought,  therefore,  of  knowing  God 
objectively  is  not  a  question  of  fact,  but  rather  one 
of  more  or  less.  We  know  much,  but  the  secret  is 
still  in  advance. 

If  it  be  alleged  that  man*s  inability  to  know  God 
in  his  entirety  is  evidence  that  "  God  is  unknowa- 
ble," then  with  equal  propriety  may  we  affirm  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  universe  that  is  not  "  un- 
knowable." There  is  absolutely  nothing  that  the  In- 
finite'ever  made  that  the  finite  can  fully  comprehend. 
The  least  of  all  the  works  of  God  is  an  elementary 
particle  of  matter.  But  where  is  the  mind  that  can 
comprehend  that  infinitesimally  small  thing  ?  Divide 
and  subdivide  until  your  apparatus  fails,  and  then 
imagination  takes  hold  of  the  possibility  of  its  being 
divided    again.      No   process  of   thinking   can    rid 


AGNOSTICISM.  -  2iy 

US  of  the  supposition  of  the  endless  divIsibiHty  of 
matter. 

It  is,  therefore,  in  perfect  keeping  with  "  science 
and  sense"  to  believe  that  while  we  may  know  much 
of  God  and  his  laws,  yet  the  secret  is  still  before  us, 
challenging  us  on  and  still  on  to  the  unknown  heights. 

The  very  existence  of  a  Creator  must  be  evinced 
by  the  subjective  evidence  of  the  creature.  As  a 
necessity,  man  could  know  nothing  of  Omniscience 
but  for  the  conscious  wisdom  of  his  own  mind.  The 
thought  of  Omnipotence  would  never  enter  the  soul 
but  for  the  subjective  fact  of  its  own  power.  Nor 
would  man  ever  think  of  an  intelligence  and  strength 
outside  of  and  above  himself  but  for  the  objective 
testimony  everywhere  to  be  seen.  If  there  were  no 
manifestations  of  design,  then  the  supposition  of  a 
designer  would  be  wholly  gratuitous.  But  when  fit- 
ness, adaptation,  and  design  are  everywhere  manifest, 
then  it  is  folly  intensified  to  say  that  there  is  no 
designer.  Nothing  is  more  reasonable,  therefore, 
than  that  we  can  know  nothing  of  God  outside  of 
the  domain  of  his  creation  and  government. 

If  the  agnostic  expression  ''we  cannot  look  be- 
yond the  nature  of  things"  means  that  we  cannot 
look  at  causation  as  above  and  independent  of  the 
effect,  then  we  demur.  We  aver  that  it  is  a  mental 
impossibility  to  conceive  of  cause  and  effect  as  iden- 
tical. An  effort  to  think  of  a  contriver  and  a  con- 
trivance as  the  self-same  will  at  once  convince  us  that 
we  are  grasping   after  a   phantom.     Every   human 


2l8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

accomplishment  has  taught  us  to  distinguish  between 
the  one  and  the  other.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  the 
mind  to  recognize  an  effect  without  supposing  an 
adequate  cause.  To  conclude,  therefore,  that  the 
mind  cannot  ''look  beyond  the  nature  of  things" 
for  an  adequate  cause  of  the  varied  phenomena  of 
design  is  to  contradict  all  observation  and  experi- 
ence, by  supposing  that  the  Creator  and  creation  are 
identical.  It  is  possible  to  conceive  of  the  Creator 
as  being  greater  than  the  creation,  but  we  can  no 
more  think  of  a  manifest  design  as  being  greater 
than  the  designer,  than  we  can  imagine,  with  the 
Hindoo  cosmogony,  that  "the  globe  rests  on  an 
elephant,  the  elephant  on  a  turtle,  and  the  turtle  on 
nothing  at  all."  But  if  in  the  expression  "  we  cannot 
look  beyond  the  nature  of  things"  is  meant  only 
that  we  can  know  nothing  of  God  except  as  he  has 
manifested  himself,  objectively  and  subjectively,  in 
the  works  of  creation,  physical  and  spiritual,  and 
in  the  management  of  them,  then  we  heartily 
concur. 

If  when  the  agnostic  says  "all  investigation  is 
bounded  by  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect"  he  means 
to  say  that  cause  and  effect  are  necessarily  related 
as  antecedent  and  subsequent,  then  the  statement 
is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  facts  of  science  ;  but  if 
he  means  that  "  cause  and  effect"  are  identical,  that 
the  universe  is  the  cause  of  its  own  phenomena,  that 
"  by  any  method  of  logical  reasoning  we  cannot  get 
beyond  the  thing  created"— if  this  is  what  is  meant 


AGNOSTICISM.  219 

to  be  said,  then  certainly  nothing  can  be  more  grossly 
unscientific. 

If  this  know-nothing,  when  he  speaks  of  the  chain 
of  cause  and  effect  as  "  forged  by  necessity  that  pre- 
vails around  us,"  means  only  that  the  chain  which 
binds  our  investigation  has  been  forged  by  the  neces- 
sities of  God's  immutable  methods  of  operating  the 
universe,  then  it  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  faith 
which  accepts  the  Creator  and  Ruler  as  a  being  "  too 
wise  to  err,  and  too  good  to  do  wrong ;"  but  if  he 
means  to  say  that  this  necessity  inheres  in  the  nature 
of  things,  that  it  is  a  cosmos  without  a  cause,  a 
creature  without  a  Creator,  then  it  is  as  sacrilegious 
and  profane  as  it  is  stupid  and  senseless. 

The  foregoing  comparisons  clearly  indicate  the 
line  of  thought  which  separates  agnosticism  from 
theism.  While  the  term  "  agnosticism"  is  of  recent 
date,  it  represents  a  theory  that  has  grown  out  of  a 
philosophy  which  is  as  old  as  the  skepticism  of 
Germany,  and  older. 

Hegel,  Fichte,  Kant,  and  Strauss  were  not  agnos- 
tics, but  rather  in  their  own  estimation  they  were 
omniscients.  In  referring  to  Hegel  and  his  fol- 
lowers Dr.  Stowe  says  :  '*  The  enormous  self-conceit 
of  these  men,  the  self-conceit  of  Hegel  himself,  the 
pitiful  folly  of  his  admirers  who  pronounced  their 
eulogies  over  his  grave,  are  among  the  greatest 
monstrosities  which  ever  existed  on  this  planet  of 
monsters— comparable  to  nothing  but  lizards  larger 


220  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

than  ten  whales,  and  to  frogs  bigger  than  ele- 
phants, which  are  said  to  have  existed  on  the  pre- 
Adamite  earth."  Referring  to  the  infidel  philosophy 
which  turned  Germany  upside  down,  he  says,  *'  Self- 
conceit  is  a  symptom  of  the  disease."  And  again, 
quoting  from  Neander,  he  pronounces  it  "  the  phi- 
losophy of  a  one-sided  logic  of  intellectual  fanaticism 
and  of  self-deification." 

While  the  spirit  of  self-deification  doubtless  en- 
tered largely  into  the  skepticism  of  Germany,  these 
men  must  be  conceded  to  be  men  of  "sense  and 
science."  Hence  we  can  best  serve  the  cause  of 
truth  by  giving  them  the  full  benefit  of  an  honest 
statement  of  their  position. 

The  Hegelian  philosophy  of  religion,  which  as- 
sumed definite  form  about  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  was  so  excessively  speculative,  that  after 
Hegel's  death  it  became  divided  into  not  less  than 
three  distinct  schools,  called  severally  "  the  right, 
center,  and  left,  according  as  they  represented  super- 
naturalism,  mysticism,  and  rationalism."  With  a 
view  of  making  these  three  distinctions  more  obvious, 
they  have  been  formulated,  *'  religious,  non-religious, 
and  anti-religious." 

Under  this  chapter  nothing  need  be  said  of  the 
extreme  right  or  left,  but  only  of  the  center — the 
non-religious.  It  is  in  this  school  of  philosophical 
"mysticism"  that  we  find  the  germ  of  agnosticism. 
While  the  agnostic  says  that  "  God  is  unknowable," 
the  mystic  gives  the  same  thought  when  he  says, 


AGNOSTICISM.  221 

**  By  any  method  of  logical  reasoning,  we  cannot  get 
beyond  the  thing  created."  And  again,  *'  The  knowl- 
edge of  God  is  the  knowledge  of  ourselves."  And 
still  again,  '^  There  is  no  God ;  and  the  devout  man, 
when  he  thinks  he  is*  worshiping  God,  is  simply  wor- 
shiping himself." 

According  to  this  philosophy,  every  effort  of  the 
human  mind  to  go  CMjt  after  the  thought  of  an  in- 
finite God  must  of  necessity  fall  within  the  line  of 
its  own  finite  nature.  We  cannot  think  of  a  God 
outside  of  ourselves.  We  can  think  of  a  creature, 
but  not  of  a  Creator ;  of  a  universe,  but  not  of  a 
God.  It  is  this  '*  mystic"  or  "agnostic"  philosophy 
which  has  done  more  to  unsettle  the  faith  of  Ger- 
many and  France,  and  to  diffuse  a  spirit  of  relig- 
ious indifference  all  over  Europe  and  America,  than 
all  else  put  together.  While  bald  atheism  or  even 
infidelity  would  be  looked  upon  as  "a  monster, 
horrid,  huge,  and  blind,"  this  mystic  philosophy 
has  served  as  a  religious  opiate  to  lull  to  sleep  the 
soul's  aspirations  after  God.  Besides,  it  is  so  mod- 
est, humble,  and  unpretending,  that  it  insinuates 
itself  into  the  soul  of  the  sluggard.  Thus  for  more 
than  three  quarters  of  a  century  it  has  been  stealth- 
ily sapping  the  very  foundation  of  our  holy  relig- 
ion, tending  to  lead  all  coming  generations  to  live 
without  hope  and  die  without  God.  It  is  most  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  we  carefully  examine  this 
philosophy,  which  has  been  so  destructive  of  a 
**  religion  of  unity  and  universal  progress." 


222  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

We  give  this  mystic  theory  the  full  benefit  of  an 
honest  statement  when  we  say  that  it  proceeds, 
first,  upon  the  premise  that  the  human  mind  cannot 
think  of  itself  as  a  personality  indepeiident  of  the 
body ;  and  that  therefore,  secondly,  the  human 
mind  cannot  think  of  God  as  a  spiritual  personality 
outside  of  the  universe. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  this  center  school  of 
philosophy  says,  "  As  soon,  especially,  as  we  en- 
deavor to  conceive  God  as  existing  before  or  with- 
out the  world,  we  become  conscious  at  once  that 
all  we  have  left  is  an  unsubstantial  fantasy." 
While  we  grant  this  to  be  a  conclusion  entirely 
logical  from  the  premise,  we  nevertheless  declare  the 
premise  to  be  a  false  assumption,  and  hence  the  in- 
ference untrue.  As  a  matter  of  philosophical  fact, 
we  aver  that  the  independent,  personal  existence  of 
the  soul  is  as  susceptible  of  proof  as  is  that  of  the 
body.  The  fact  that  the  human  body  exists  is 
made  known  to  the  mind  purely  through  the  objec- 
tive testimony  of  figure,  extension,  solidity,  etc. 
These  physical  evidences  are  conveyed  to  the  mind 
through  the  senses,  and  in  the  absence  of  this  testi- 
mony all  we  have  left  "  is  an  unsubstantial  fantasy." 

The  soul  recognizes  itself  as  a  personality  inde- 
pendent of  the  body,  not  by  the  objective  testi- 
mony of  "  figure,  extension,  and  solidity,"  but  by 
the  subjective  evidence  of  faith,  hope,  fear,  love, 
etc.  But  because  these  attestations  are  purely 
spiritual  are  they  any  the  less  convincing?      Can 


AGNOSTICISM.  223 

the  mind  any  more  doubt  the  existence  of  the  im- 
material thing  which  we  call  love  than  it  can  ques- 
tion the  existence  of  the  body?  Nor  is  it  possible 
to  think  of  the  body, or  any  part  of  it,  as  this  thing 
which  hopes,  fears,  loves,  and  hates.  The  effort  at 
such  thinking  will  convince  us  of  the  impossibility. 

To  illustrate  further  the  fact  that  the  soul  is  a 
personality  independent  of  the  body,  it  may  be  ob- 
served that  as  the  material  lives  on  physical  food, 
so  the  immaterial  must  exist  on  spiritual  nourish- 
ment. These  things  which  we  call  faith,  hope,  and 
love  are  as  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  the 
soul  as  is  bread  to  the  body.  Deprive  the  soul  of 
faith,  and  its  energy  is  gone.  Remove  the  last  ves- 
tige of  Jiope,  and  dark  despair  will  fill  the  soul  with 
unutterable  dismay.  Let  love,  the  source  of  all 
feHcity,  be  removed  from  the  mind,  and  be  replaced 
by  bitter  hate,  and  consequences  worse  than  death 
must  follow.  Strict  obedience  to  our  sense  of 
right  is  to  the  soul  what  bread  is  to  the  body,  while 
a  conscious  violation  of  it  is  to  the  soul  what  poison 
is  to  the  body.  As  we  determine  the  physical 
nature  of  the  body  by  the  material  character  of  its 
food,  so  we  learn  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  soul 
by  the  immateriality  of  its  nourishment.  "  Like 
produces  like." 

Is  it  possible  to  think  of  this  spiritual  identity 
and  its  spiritual  food  as  identical  with  the  physical 
body  and  its  physical  food  ?  The  very  effort  at 
such  thinking  can  but    illustrate   its  impossibility. 


224  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

The  material  universe  is  constructed  out  of  the 
sixty  two  or  three  "elements,"  more  or  less.  Now 
if  we  attempt  to  conceive  of  this  thing  which  loves 
and  hates,  thinks  and  doubts,  as  being  any  one,  or 
even  all,  of  these  elementary  particles  of  matter,  we 
at  once  become  conscious  that  we  are  grasping  after 
an  "  unsubstantial  fantasy." 

While  philosophy  teaches  us  that  matter  is  inert, 
and  that  all  power  is  in  mind,  our  own  conscious- 
ness is  a  standing  witness  to  the  same  truth.  Our 
first  conception  of  power  is  associated  with  a  con- 
scious effort  of  will.  For  example,  we  will  to  move 
the  hand  or  foot,  and  at  once  we  observe  motion, 
or  the  manifestation  of  power.  But  can  we,  by  any 
possible  imagination,  conceive  of  this  will-power 
being  inherent  in  flesh  and  blood?  The  man  who 
is  able  to  think  of  the  "  I,"  or  "  me,"  that  he  calls 
himself,  as  being  solely  flesh  and  blood,  whether  in 
the  foot  or  head,  is  eminently  qualified,  by  his  elas- 
tic imagination,  to  take  in  all  the  absurd  stories  of 
the  Scandinavian  mythology,  while  his  friends  may 
offer  an  apology  for  such  thinking  on  the  ground 
of  his  mental  imbecility.  Certainly  no  one  who  is 
capable  of  observing  a  distinction  where  there  is  an 
absolute  difference  can  fail  to  see  that  *'  the  /,  the 
me,  that  each  man  calls  himself,"  is  a  personality 
distinct  from  the  body,  and  that  this  spirit-person 
uses  this  material  person  as  but  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  its  power.  This  is  not  theory,  nor 
even    faith,    but    conscious    knowledge.     And    by 


AGNOSTICISM.  22$ 

parity  of  reasoning,  all  manifestations  of  wisdom 
and  power  must  be*  attributed  to  spirit-personality. 
We  can  no  more  think  of  manifest  wisdom  and 
power  as  being  matter,  much  or  little,  than  we 
can  think  of  our  own  spirit-personality  as  being 
the  body  or  any  part  of  it.  Moreover,  we  can 
think  of  the  finite  and  the  Infinite  only  by  com- 
parison. The  wisdom  and  power  of  soul-personal- 
ity are  measured  by  our  observation  of  results;  so, 
likewise,  we  conceive  of  the  omniscience  and  om- 
nipotence of  the  great  Spirit-personality  by  the 
manifestations  of  its  infinite  wisdom  and  power. 
We  say  **  infinite,"  for  the  reason  that  while  we  can 
clearly  comprehend  much  of  this  wisdom  and  power, 
yet  by  farthest  stretch  of  imagination  we  fail  to 
compass  it  in  its  fullness.  Though  with  the  devout 
Psalmist  w^e  may  exultantly  say,  *'  The  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth 
his  handiwork,"  yet  when  human  thought  has 
reached  its  boundary  the  soul  is  overwhelmed  with 
its  far-stretching  vision,  and  reverently  exclaims, 
*'  Great  and  marvelous  are  thy  works.  Lord  God 
Almighty;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King 
of  saints ;  who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and 
glorify  thy  name?" 

When  we  think  of  the  skepticism  and  infidelity 
which  has  spread  all  over  Europe  and  America,  and 
that  all  this  has  grown  out  of  a  philosophy  which 
is  as  false  in  fact  as  it  is  modest  and  unpretentious, 
we  are  reminded  of  that  scripture,  "  How  great  a 
15 


226  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  !"  But  this  agnostic 
thought,  which  crazed  the  head  of  Germany,  and 
was  supposed  to  undermine  the  very  foundation  of 
all  religion,  like  all  other  forms  of  infidelity,  when 
it  has  played  its  last  part, — a  part  which  is  but  the 
due  of  every  finite  phenomenon — that  of  rendering 
its  tribute  to  the  law  of  mutability, — then  will  it  re- 
main for  all  time  as  the  psycho-theological  wonder 
of  the  world.  Whatever  else  we  may  doubt,  let  us 
never  call  in  question  the  absolute  existence  of  an 
ever-presiding  Mind,  who  is  now  a7td  ever  seated 
upon  his  own  exalted  throne,  controlling  his  bound- 
less universe,  in  the  councils  of  his  own  infinite 
wisdom. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

PANTHEISM. 


(l)  Spiritualistic  Pantheism.     (2)  Materialistic  Pantheism. 
(3)  German  Pantheism. 

Pantheism  (from/^//,  all,  and  thcos,  god  ;  Every- 
thing-God-ism)  represents  a  trinity  in  unity  :  unity, 
in  that  all  the  different  phases  of  it  start  out,  in 
some  sense,  with  the  theory  involved  in  its  etymol- 
ogy, viz.,  that  '*  the  Universe  is  God  and  God  is  the 
Universe;"  trinity,  in  that  the  different  schools  may 
be    classified  under  three  heads — the  Spiritualistic 


PANTHEISM.  227 

or  Idealistic,  the  Materialistic,  and  that  which  for 
want  of  a  better  name  we  call  the  German.  These 
different  forms  we  will  consider  in  their  order. 

(i)  Spiritualistic  Pantheism. — This  form  of  pan- 
theism— the  whole  universe  absorbed  in  the  infinite 
Spirit — characterized  the  Hindu  religion.  The  ma- 
terial universe,  in  the  mind  of  the  Hindu  worshiper, 
is  absorbed  in  God.  "  The  Hindu  thinker  regards 
man  as  born  into  a  world  of  illusions  and  entangle- 
ments, from  which  his  great  aim  should  be  to  de- 
liver himself.  Neither  sense  nor  reason,  however, 
is  capable  of  helping  him.  Only  through  longhand 
continued  rigorous  and  holy  contemplation  of  the 
supreme  unity  (Brama)  can  he  become  emancipated 
from  the  deceptive  influence  of  phenomena,  and  fit 
to  apprehend  that  he  and  they  are  alike  but  evanes- 
cent modes  of  existence  assumed  by  that  infinite, 
eternal,  and  unchangeable  Spirit  who  is  all  in  all. 
Hindu  pantheism  is  thus  purely  spiritual  in  its  char- 
acter. Matter  and  finite  mind  are  both  alike  ab- 
sorbed in  the  fathomless  abyss  of  illimitable  and  ab- 
solute being." 

As  the  human  soul  is  but  another  mode  of  exist- 
ence of  that  infinite  Spirit,  when  man  dies  his  soul 
will  be  resumed  by  the  eternal  soul  of  the  universe. 
As  this  Brahmanic  pantheism  conceived  all  things 
in  the  universe,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  as  but 
so  many  manifestations  of  the  great  indwelling 
Spirit,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  Brahmanism  repre- 
sents a  polytheism  without  limit,  and  an  idolatry 


228  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

most  cruel  and  degrading.  As  the  human  soul  was 
but  an  Eon  (or  subordinate  personality)  of  the  In- 
finite, it  made  God  the  author  of  crime  and  source 
of  wretchedness.  And  the  degradation  of  India 
during  these  thousands  of  years  is  but  a  living 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  a  people's  conception 
of  God  is  the  true  index  to  the  state  of  their  civili- 
zation. 

Any  view  that  in  any  wise  makes  God,  Adam,  or 
the  Devil  responsible  for  the  spirit  we  manifest,  the 
words  we  utter,  or  the  life  we  live,   must,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  lessen  personal  strivings  towards 
a  noble    manhood,    and  by  so  much   degrade   our 
humanity.     Adam's  transgression  was  greatly  inten- 
sified  in  the  fact  that  he  charged  his  crime  to  the 
woman,  while  it  would  have  been  greatly  to  the 
credit  of  Eve  if  she  had  had  the  womanly  courage 
to   reproach    herself,    instead    of    charging    all    to 
the  account  of  the  Devil.     The  key  to  Hindu  char- 
acter is  found   in  the  fact  that  they  regarded  all 
human  souls  as  but  so  many  evanescent  modes  of 
existence  assumed  by  that  eternal  Spirit,  who   him- 
self is  responsible  for  all  that  is.     Hence  their  de- 
graded condition. 

(2)  Materialistic  Pantheism. — While  spiritualistic 
pantheism  regarded  the  whole  universe  of  matter 
and  mind  as  being  absorbed  by  the  infinite  Spirit, 
that  of  the  materialistic,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
ceived of  God  as  being  absorbed  by  the  universe. 
Brahmanism,  or  Hindu  philosophy,  represented  the 


PANTHEISM.  229 

former,  while  that  of  the  latter  characterized  Buddh- 
ism or  the  Chinese  philosophy. 

Brahmanism  conceived  of  God  as  absolutely  all 
and  in  all.  All  the  different  manifestations,  whether 
of  mind  or  matter,  were  but  so  many  distinct  modes 
assumed  by  the  infinite  Spirit.  Buddhism,  assuming 
the  other  extreme,  claimed  that  God  had  absorbed 
nothing,  but  that  everything  had  absorbed  God. 
Thus  we  observe  that  while  spiritualistic  pantheism 
makes  God  the  author  of  all  crime  and  the  source  of 
all  wretchedness,  materialistic  pantheism  represents 
God  as  under  a  fatality  from  which  he  cannot  es- 
cape. And  each  view  is  thus  seen  to  be  alike  de- 
grading to  humanity,  in  that  both  alike  deny  the 
freedom  of  the  human  will  and  the  duty  of  man  to 
abhor  evil  and  cleave  to  the  good,  and  thus,  when 
life's  labors  are  ended,  be  found  worthy  to  receive 
the  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant."  Here  is 
the  beauty  of  Christianity.  It  presents  man  as  ab- 
solutely free  and  responsible. 

(3)  German  Pantheism. — While  the  distinction  be- 
tween spiritualistic  and  materialistic  pantheism  is 
clear,  that  of  the  German  is  not  so  easily  seen. 

Bruno,  the  Italian,  may  be  considered  the  author 
of  the  modern  pantheistic  thought  which  has  swept 
over  Europe  and  America,  and  which  has  held  a  firm 
footing  in  Germany  during  the  last  fifty  years.  But, 
like  all  departures  from  truth,  one  mistake  has  led 
to  another,  until  now  we  find  theories  ad  injinitiim. 
**The  universe,  in  the  eyes  of  the  unfortunate  Ital- 


230  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

ian,  is  not,  properly  speaking,  a  creation,  but  only 
an  emanation  of  the  Infinite  mind — the  eternal  ex- 
pression of  its  infinite  activity.  And  hence  the  Infi- 
nite Mind  penetrates  and  fills,  with  different  degrees 
of  consciousness,  all  the  heights  and  depths  of  the 
universe.  To  see  God  everywhere,  to  realize  that 
he  alone  is,  and  that  all  else  is  but  a  perishable  phe- 
nomenon or  passing  illusion  ;  that  there  is  but  one 
intelligence  in  God,  man,  beast,  and  what  we  call 
matter — this  should  be  the  aim  of  all  true  philoso- 
phy."    {Chambers  s  EncyclopcBdia.) 

But  this  philosophy  of  Bruno,  maimed  and  dis- 
figured as  it  is,  has  been  further  mutilated  by  such 
critics  as  Spinoza,  Fichte,  Schelling,  Hegel,  and  still 
later  by  such  philosophers  as  Voltaire  of  France  and 
Strauss  of  Germany. 

The  metaphysical  mysticism  of  Hegelianism  has 
been  so  wrought  upon  by  the  spiritualists,  who  deny 
the  existence  of  matter,  and  the  materialists,  who 
deny  the  existence  of  mind,  and  the  skeptic,  who 
denies  the  existence  of  either  matter  or  mind,  that 
in  their  "  multitude  of  counsel  "  they  have  succeeded 
in  making  darkness  more  visible  and  confusion  worse 
confounded.  They  agree  in  nothing,  save  in  the 
proposition  that  the  "  universe  is  God,  and  God  is 
the  universe." 

Though  they  have  no  All-wise,  All-powerful,  and 
Ever-present,  personal  God,  who  has  made  them, 
body  and  soul,  subject  to  law,  and  who  imposes  upon 
them  the  duty  of  striving  to  bring  themselves  into 


PANTHEISM.  231 

blissful  harmony  with  that  law,  yet  if  all  their  varied 
philosophies  were  allowed  the  benefit  of  their  own 
logic,  they  would  have  a  God  that  would  awe  them 
into  holier  thought  and  move  them  into  a  more 
worthy  effort. 

The  last  departure  in  this  pantheistic  thought  is 
that  given  by  Strauss,  in  which  he  concludes  that 
there  is  "  a  self-centered  Cosmos,  unchangeable 
amidst  the  eternal  change  of  things,"  as  the  cause  of 
all  the  varied  phenomena  of  the  universe  of  matter 
and  mind.  But  that  "  Cosmos"  is  but  another  name 
for  God  is  clearly  set  forth  by  Dr.  Edward  Thom- 
son^ :  "  Let  us  admit,"  says  he,  ''  that  nature  by  its 
own  inherent  force  produced  the  universe,  and  rea- 
son on  the  supposition,  what  follows? 

"  {a)  Nature  is  a  great  architect.  How  insignificant 
all  others  in  comparison  ! 

"  {b)  It  is  also  a  great  astronomer.  For  out  as  far 
as  the  eye  or  telescope  can  reach  the  laws  of  Kepler 
and  Newton  are  found,  bringing  the  worlds  above  to 
their  appointed  stations  with  the  regularity  of  clock- 
work.    No  chronometer  like  that  of  the  bkies. 

*'  {c)  Nature  is  a  great  chemist.  For  throughout 
the  world  the  law  of  definitive  proportions  prevails, 
and  every  atom  is  weighed  and  labeled  as  by  the  hand 
of  the  manufacturer. 

"  (d)  It  is  a  great  physiologist.  For  no  animal 
comes  into  the  world  all  trunk  or  all  extremities,  all 

*  "Evidences  of  Revealed  Religion." 


232  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

brain  or  all  heart.  But  each  has  organs  of  life,  of 
motion,  of  sense  ;  and  each  organ  has  its  proper  place 
and  relations. 

"(^)  It  must  be  a  great  psychologist.  For  every 
man  comes  into  the  world  with  a  well-constituted 
mind.  No  man  is  all  will,  or  intellect,  or  passion  ;  but 
each  is  in  himself  a  perfectly  constituted  government, 
having  reason  to  legislate  for  him,  conscience  to 
judge,  passion  to  impel,  will  to  execute. 

*'  (/")  It  must  be  a  great  conservator.  The  sexes, 
also,  are  properly  balanced.  In  no  island  do  we 
find  all  the  children  either  male  or  female.  No  two 
human  countenances  are  alike;  no  two  animals  or 
vegetables.  Were  it  otherwise,  the  social  relations 
and  the  rights  of  property  would  be  disturbed. 

"  (^)  Nature  is  a  great  moralist.  For  in  all  ages 
and  nations  men  are  prosperous  and  happy  in  pro- 
portion as  they  keep  the  Ten  Commandments. 

''  {Jt)  It  is  even  a  great  religionist.  For  everywhere 
and  in  all  ages  men  have  temples,  priests,  sacrifices, 
prayers.  They  act  as  though  God  regulates  the 
world  and  interferes  for  his  praying  children.  He 
is  the  truly  contented  man,  living  or  dying,  who  is 
truly  religious. 

"  If  nature  brought  us  into  this  world  without  ask- 
ing our  consent,  it  may  take  us  by  the  same  liberty 
into  another ;  if  it  respects  moral  and  religious  con- 
siderations hcrCy  it  may  there;  if  it  makes  this  world 
look  and  feel  like  a  state  of  probation,  it  may  carry 


PANTHEISM.  233 

forward   its  own  system,  and  make  the  next  look 
and  feel  like  a  state  of  retribution. 

'*  Indeed,  Nature  is  only  another  name  for  God; 
and  we  delude  ourselves  if  we  think  to  get  rid  of 
God  by  calling  him  Nature.  A  mere  abstraction  can- 
not build  even  a  hat-box." 

In  the  mind  of  the  pantheistic  philosopher,  *'  death 
ends  all "  so  far  as  the  individual  is  concerned.  He 
may  be  resumed  by  the  great  unthinking  soul  of  the 
universe,  but  death  to  the  individual  is  an  eternal 
sleep.  Man  comes  upon  the  stage  of  existence 
with  a  most  intense  desire  for  life,  only  to  look 
down  into  the  dark  valley,  without  a  ray  of  light 
shooting  up  from  the  black  horizon  of  the  great  Be- 
yond. The  only  practical  result  of  spirittialistic, 
materialistic,  or  Germanistic  pantheism  is  stagnation 
and  death  to  every  nobler  impulse  of  man's  nature. 
If  the  soul's  native  possibilities  are  to  be  evolved 
into  their  possible  and  superlative  glory,  we  must 
regard  ourselves  as  heirs  of  immortality.  This  life 
must  be  regarded  as  the  seed-time,  while  eternity 
must  be  viewed  as  the  harvest,  and  thus  the  sowing 
and  the  reaping  will  be  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect. 

The  fact  that  any  conceivable  method  of  reason- 
ing must  inevitably  lead  to  the  thought  of  God  will 
be  further  illustrated  under  the  next  chapter. 


234  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ATHEISM. 

(a)  The  Theory  of  Natural  Law.— (3)  The  Nebular  Hypothesis. — 

(c)  Evolution. 

The  word  "  Atheism"  is  from  the  Greek  word 
At/ieos,  no  God,  or  denying  God  (No-God-ism). 

There  is  no  word  in  the  Enghsh  language,  per- 
haps, whose  meaning  has  been  so  misused  as  this. 
As  an  epithet,  it  has  been  hurled  indiscriminately  at 
any  who  may  have  the  temerity  to  dissent  from  the 
popular  sentiment. 

Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  the  man  who  refused 
to  believe  in  all  the  gods  which  the  popular  thought 
had  deified  was  branded  as  an  atheist.  The  panthe- 
ist, who  conceives  the  universe  as  Spirit,  denounces 
the  materialistic  pantheist  with  the  odious  name  of 
atheist.  And  as  crimination  is  followed  by  recrimi- 
nation, the  epithet  is  hurled  back  upon  the  spiritual- 
istic pantheist. 

Bruno  was  burned  as  an  atheist  because  he  did  not 
believe  in  God  according  to  the  general  conception. 
Spinoza  was  pronounced  an  atheist,  when  nothing 
could  have  been  farther  from  the  fact.  And  even 
now  among  many  Christians  there  is  such  a  lamen- 
table lack  of  Christianity,  that  the  stigma  is  branded 


ATHEISM.  235 

Upon  all  who  may  chance  to  differ  from  the  popular 
thought  and  who  have  refused  to  submit  to  the 
iron-bedstead  creed.  The  fact  that  humanity  shud- 
ders at  the  name  of  atheist  accounts  for  its  promis- 
cuous use  by  the  bad  angel  of  our  nature.  Hume, 
with  all  his  infidelity,  spurned  the  title  of  atheism 
with  indignity. 

As  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  God  seems  to  be 
inwrought  in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  world  has  presented  us  with  but  very 
few  who  have  had  the  courage  to  avow  atheism. 
And  even  those  isolated  cases  may  properly  be  re- 
garded as  freaks  of  evolution,  if  not  "  fools"  by  na- 
ture. So  nothing  need  be  said  of  atheism  in  its  root- 
meaning,  because  those  who  confess  it  have  gone 
beyond  the  reach  of  "  sense  and  reason"  or  any  rea- 
sonable process  of  recovery. 

But  the  term  atheism  has,  very  properly,  been 
used  in  an  accommodated  sense,  having  reference, 
first,  to  those  who  declare  that  though  God  may  ex- 
ist, it  is  a  fact  which  is  incapable  of  demonstration 
(agnostics) ;  and  secondly,  to  those  who  afifirm  that 
the  fact  of  such  existence  is  susceptible  of  being  dis- 
proved. The  former  represent  what  has  been 
termed  speculative  atheism,  while  the  latter  advocate 
what  has  been  styled  dogmatic  atheism. 

Kant  and  other  German  philosophers,  while  they 
were  not  atheists  in  the  true  sense  of  that  term, 
were  nevertheless  of  the  speculative  school.  It 
would,  perhaps,  be  no  injustice  to  them  to  call  them 


236  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

agnostics,  since  to  them  God  was  unknowable  from 
any  available  evidence  either  objective  or  subjective. 
But  as  agnosticism  has  already  been  reviewed,  we 
need  only  refer  to  *'  dogmatic  atheism."  And  our 
only  object  in  referring  to  this  speculative  theory 
is,  not  to  brand  its  advocates  with  atheism,  but  rather 
to  relieve  them  of  its  odium.  For  it  will  be  observed, 
we  trust,  that  the  very  efforts  that  they  make  to  dis- 
prove the  existence  of  God  only  go  to  demonstrate 
the  truth  of  the  proposition  whioh  they  have  denied. 
As  previously  suggested,  the  varied  phenomena 
of  the  universe,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  are 
facts  universally  conceded.  Moreover,  it  is  no 
longer  to  be  doubted  that  all  these  things  had  a  be- 
ginning and  therefore  a  beginner.  The  only  dispute 
is  as  to  whether  this  beginner  is  a  person  or  a  princi- 
ple. That  there  is  an  infinite  Energy  at  work,  none 
can  question.  And  the  thought  which  we  wish  to 
impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader  is,  that  any 
conceivable  method  of  reasoning  with  a  view  to  as- 
signing an  adequate  cause  for  creation  must  of  ne- 
cessity lead  to  the  thought  of  an  Infinite  Mind,  in 
which  alone  such  wisdom  and  power  can  be  found. 
We  have  seen  that  the  cosmical  power  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  inherent  in  nature  is  but  another  name 
for  God.  We  have  also  shown  that  the  thought  of 
God  was  well-nigh  base  and  apex  of  the  structure 
of  both  spiritualistic  and  materialistic  pantheism. 
It  now  remains  for  us  to  see  that  even  the  atheistic 
efforts  at  disproving  join  the  universal  testimony  in 


ATHEISM.  237 

establishing  the  precious  truth  that  there  is  a  per- 
sonal Being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  boundless  love. 

{a)  Seeing  the  dilemma  of  the  cosmical,  the  spirit- 
ualistic, and  the  materialistic  theories,  the  atheist  of 
dogmatic  tendencies  rushes  to  the  rescue,  assigning 
Law  as  the  inherent  cause  of  all  that  is.  He  has 
no  difficulty  in  accounting  for  both  the  material  and 
immaterial  universe  by  this  fixed  and  unalterable 
Law.  The  perpetuity,  order,  and  universal  harmony 
which  prevail  everywhere  may  be  easily  accounted 
for  on  the  supposition  of  an  inflexible  and  unchange- 
able Law.  The  chronometer  of  the  stars  is  absolute- 
ly perfect,  for  the  reason  that  all  these  mighty  worlds 
fly  along  their  trackless  way  because  of  the  power 
of  stable  and  changeless  Law.  Vegetables  and  ani- 
mals innumerable  spring  into  being,  live  and  ma- 
ture, decay  and  die,  at  the  hand  of  omniscient  and 
omnipotent  Law. 

How  insignificant  all  words  as  compared  with  this 
high-sounding  word  Law!  Nor  is  there  a  word  in 
the  English  language  more  misused  than  this  word 
Law.  We  hear  it  from  the  pulpit  and  the  bench, 
read  it  in  books  and  periodicals.  While  it  is  a  little 
household  word  with  which  we  are  perfectly  familiar, 
in  its  promiscuous  use  it  comes  to  be  a  word  of  very 
doubtful  meaning.  Is  it  meant  that  power  inheres 
in  Law?  Is  it  the  nature  of  Law  to  be  infinitely 
wise  in  contrivance  and  omnipotent  in  execution? 
If  this  be  its  meaning,  then  it  is  simply  another 
name  for  God.     So  that  when  the  atheist  says,  "All 


238  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

worlds  and  the  fullness  thereof  are  but  the  result  of 
immutable  Law,"  he  means,  if  he  means  anything, 
precisely  what  the  theist  means  when  he  says  that 
"  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth." 

But  such  a  definition  of  the  term  Law  is  wholly 
gratuitous.  Law  is  simply  an  abstract  principle  of 
action.  When  we  say  that  the  state  is  governed  by 
law,  we  do  not  mean  that  the  law  has  wisdom  and 
power  to  govern  ;  but  we  only  mean,  if  we  mean  any- 
thing, that  it  is  the  fixed  method  by  which  justice  is 
administered.  We  say  that  the  house  is  built  by  a 
fixed  law.  Not  that  the  law  has  an  inherent  energy, 
but  simply  that  it  is  the  method  of  procedure  which 
is  to  be  faithfully  observed  by  the  builder.  So,  like- 
wise, when  we  speak  of  the  fixed  laws  by  which  the 
universe  has  been  built  and  by  which  it  is  sustained, 
we  only  mean  the  fixed  method  of  procedure  by 
which  the  Maker  of  the  universe  controls  all  nature, 
animate  and  inanimate.  But  if  we  speak  of  law  as 
having  an  inherent  power  of  production  and  pres- 
ervation, we  speak  pure  nonsense.  Whenever  we 
attempt  to  think  of  law  except  as  a  mode  in  which 
some  force  regularly  acts,  we  at  once  become  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  we  are  grasping  after  a  fantasy. 

Thus  we  observe  that  this  whole  notion  of  Law, 
which  has  been  substituted  with  a  view  of  dispens- 
ing with  the  existence  of  God,  only  argues  in  favor 
of  the  truth  which  it  purposed  to  deny.  The  uni- 
versal presence  of  this  uniform  and  changeless  law 
or  method  of  action  declares  unmistakably  the  omni- 


ATHEISM.  239 

presence  of  an  omniscient  and  omnipotent  Archi- 
tect of  the  universe.  The  absolute  and  endless  har- 
mony of  all  material  worlds,  the  ceaseless  pulse  of 
an  animated  universe,  concordantly  speak  with  un- 
hushable  tongue  of  an  immutable  law  which  is  but 
the  omnipotent  Jehovah's  mode  of  working  in  the 
creation  and  government  of  the  universe.  We  may 
therefore  safely  aver,  without  dogmatism,  that  no 
man  can  be  a  philosopher  and  deny  the  existence 
of  a  God,  for  every  step  in  the  divine  process  only 
goes  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  fact  which  he 
seeks  to  deny. 

{b)  Again,  when  the  "■  nebular  hypothesis"  was  first 
presented  by  the  eminent  astronomer  La  Place,  it  was 
thought  by  some  less  scientific  men  that  it  would 
once  and  forever  dispose  of  the  God  of  the  Bible. 
This  nebular  hypothesis  goes  upon  the  supposition 
that  our  solar  system  was  at  a  time  in  the  unknown 
past  one  mass  of  confused  matter  revolving  upon 
its  own  axis,  in  which  there  were  two  opposing 
forces,— centripetal  and  centrifugal, — the  one  tend- 
ing to  condensation,  the  other  to  separation. 

After  a  long  process  of  time  this  body  of  matter 
became  condensed.  From  this  central  sun,  because 
of  its  rapid  circular  motion,  the  planets  were  thrown 
off,  and  in  like  manner  were  condensed.  Likewise, 
the  satellites  were  thrown  from  the  planets  and  in 
turn  became  solid.  Thus,  after  countless  years,  our 
solar  system  assumed  its  present  beauty,  order,  and 
harmony.      But  by  intelligent  reason   it  was  seen 


240  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

that  the  nebular  hypothesis  involved  the  necessity 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  power  no  less  than  the  older 
theory.  The  only  new  question  to  which  it  gave 
rise  was  not  that  of  the  existence  of  an  all-wise 
Architect,  but  simply  one  of  time  and  method.  The 
law  of  gravity  and  of  circular  motion,  in  the  light  of 
reason,  are  but  modes  of  the  divine  operation.  Nor 
can  we  conceive  of  this  nebular  hypothesis  of  creation 
as  requiring  any  less  wisdom  and  power  than  would 
have  been  displayed  if  all  these  worlds  had  been 
spoken  into  being  instantaneously.  The  miracle  is 
absolutely  as  great  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 

(c)  Again,  as,  when  the  nebular  hypothesis  was 
first  advanced,  atheism  blindly  rushed  to  the  con- 
clusion that  we  had  a  universe  of  design  with  no 
designer ;  so  likewise,  when  Darwin's  theory  of  evo- 
lution was  set  forth,  short-sighted  atheism  again 
joyously  accepted  it  as  presenting  a  world  of  ani- 
mated creation  with  no  Creator,  deeming  that  it  had 
obtained  its  long-sought  victory  of  having  a  two- 
fold world  without  a  God.  When  La  Place's  nebu- 
lar hypothesis  had  accounted  for  the  suns  and 
planets,  and  Darwin's  evolution-theory  explained 
the  incoming  of  all  animal  life,  the  skepticism  of 
Europe  and  America  was  most  jubilant  over  its  long- 
sought  liberty.  In  the  hope  of  the  soon-coming 
freedom  of  atheism  (the  veriest  slavery  ever  known 
to  the  race),  one  of  Germany's  ablest  skeptics  ex- 
ultantly declared  that  "  There  could  be  no  perma- 
nent freedom  till  the  idea  of  God  and  all  responsi- 


ATHEISM.  241 

bility  to  God  werft  entirely  banished  from  the  hu- 
man mind." 

This  evolution-theory  seeks  to  "  trace  all  organ- 
ized form  of  life  to  a  single  parent  germ  or  molecule 
out  of  which  we  have  all  existing  developments." 
But,  though  we  grant  all  that  it  claims,  that  all  the 
fish,  great  and  small,  the  fowls  of  unnumbered  vari- 
ety, the  quadrupeds  and  bipeds,  all  the  animated 
world,  have  been  evolved  from  a  few  parent  germs, 
this  admission  in  no  wise  contradicts  the  Bible 
statement  that  "  the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast 
of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air  :"  nor  does  it 
affect  the  truth  of  the  statement  that  the  "  Lord 
God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground."  Like 
the  nebular  hypothesis  of  the  creation  of  worlds, 
this  evolution-theory  of  the  origin  of  the  animate 
universe  only  raises  a  question  touching  the  divine 
processes  of  creation,  and  in  no  wise  touches  the 
truth  that  "  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness 
thereof:  the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein." 

Were  God  by  the  fiat  of  his  power  to  speak,  and 

instantaneously  the  sturdy  oak  were  to  stand  erect 

to  defy  the  storms,  he  would  display  no  more  power 

and  wisdom  than  he  does  in  wrapping  the  mighty 

trunk  and  its  branches  up  in  the  acorn,  and  year  by 

year  unfolding  this  germ  until  the  full-grown  tree 

shall  speak  in  unmistakable  language  of  the  glory  of 

its  creation.     So  if  it  could  be  shown,  which  it  never 

has  been,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  it  never  will 
16 


242  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

be,  that  man  was  evolved  from  a  molecule,  yet  this 
would  only  show  the  stages  through  which  God  has 
produced  the  crowning  work  of  his  hand.  So  far 
from  disproving  the  existence  of  a  Creator,  the  crea- 
tion of  a  man  would  be  made  only  more  marvelous 
by  the  supposition  that  the  soul's  infinite  possibilities 
were  once  an  embryo  germ,  which  in  the  process  of 
development  has  had  to  pass  through  fishes,  reptiles, 
birds,  and  monkeys.  "  The  primordial  cell,  from 
which  animated  creation  is  slowly  evolved  by  pro- 
gressive mutations,  must  have  possessed  the  vital 
properties,  powers,  instincts,  and  reason'  of  the  whole 
living  nature,  including  man's  rational  and  immortal 
soul ;"  else  the  ''  parts  are  greater  than  the  whole." 
As  the  acorn  contains  the  oak  in  embryo,  so  this 
molecule  or  parent  germ  must  have  had  in  it  all  that 
has  grown  out  of  it ;  else,  further,  the  creative  hand 
has  been  at  work  ever  since  evolution  began.  But, 
as  suggested,  such  embryonic  possibilities  would  as 
clearly  prove  the  divine  presence  as  all  the  succeed- 
ing developments.  That  primordial  cell,  from  which 
endless  variety  has  been  evolved,  would  only  illus- 
trate in  a  marvelous  degree  the  infinite  wisdom  of 
the  Creator's  method  of  procedure. 

It  is  gross  injustice  to  Darwin  to  suppose  that  his 
evolution-theory  involves  a  denial  of  the  existence 
of  God.  To  the  mind  of  this  great  scientist  his 
views  reflect  the  greater  honor.  "  There  is  a  grand- 
eur in  this  view  of  life,"  says  Darwin,  "with  its 
several  powers,  having  been  originally  breathed  by 


ATHEISM.  243 

the  Creator  into  a  few  forms  or  into  one ;  and  that, 
while  this  planet  has  gone  cycling  on  according  to 
the  fixed  law  of  gravity,  from  so  simple  a  beginning 
endless  forms,  most  beautiful  and  most  wonderful, 
have  been  and  are  being  evolved." 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  every  conceivable  pro- 
cess of  reasoning  must  inevitably  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion of  a  God,  and  that  all  differences  of  opinion 
relate,  not  to  the  fact  of  God,  but  only  to  duration 
of  time  and  the  methods  of  his  operation. 

While  but  few  men  have  had  the  temerity  to  avow 
the  theory  of  atheism,  yet  there  is  a  practical  athe- 
ism which  is  as  greatly  to  be  deplored  as  it  is  wide- 
spread. We  profess  to  believe  in  the  omnipresence 
of  an  all-seeing  God,  who  takes  cognizance  of  the 
life  we  live,  the  words  we  utter,  and  the  very 
thoughts  we  entertain  ;  and  yet,  in  the  holy  pres- 
ence of  Him  who  is  of  too  pure  eyes  to  behold 
iniquity  with  allowance,  we  dare  to  think  evil 
thoughts,  speak  blasphemous  words,  and  even  live 
in  open  rebellion ;  while  conscience,  which  is  but 
the  hand  of  God  in  man,  flourishes  a  sharp  scourge 
within  the  soul,  that  it  may  be  kept  from  the  con- 
suming fire  of  sin,  which,  ''when  finished,  bringeth 
death."  The  man  who  lives  in  this  age  of  reason 
and  revelation  and  yet  cherishes  wicked  thoughts, 
utters  obscene  blasphemy,  and  lives  an  ignoble  and 
unworthy  life,  only  manifests  a  practical  atheism 
which  is  as  dark  and  damning  as  it  is  stupid  and 
senseless.     The    discrepancy  between  faith  in  the 


244  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

divine  presence  and  an  ungodly  life  is  absolutely  ir- 
reconcilable;  the  two  things  cannot  exist  in  the 
same  soul  at  the  same  time. 

When,  therefore,  we  look  out  upon  the  multitude, 
whose  feet  are  swift  on  the  road  to  ruin  and  whose 
hands  take  hold  on  death,  we  sadly  realize  that, 
while  theoretical  atheism  is  such  an  absurdity  in 
reason  that  few  profess  it,  practical  atheism  stalks 
abroad,  like  Satan  of  old,  seeking  whom  it  may 
devour.  Nor  can  we  account  for  hypocritical  and 
dead  formality  at  the  sacred  altar  upon  any  other 
supposition  than  that  of  religious  atheism.  Implicit 
faith  in  the  absolute  presence  of  the  Holy  One 
would  awe  us  into  devout  and  holy  thought,  and 
breathe  upon  our  ceremonial  dry  bones  the  breath 
of  life,  that  we  might  come  up  out  of  the  wilderness 
and  shine,  ''fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  The  moral  deg- 
radation of  society  and  the  lifeless  formality  of 
religion  speak,  trumpet-tongued,  of  an  atheism 
which  is  alike  degrading  to  the  creature  and  dishon- 
oring to  the  Creator.  It  must  be  obvious  to  every 
thoughtful  mind  that  implicit  faith  in  the  presence 
of  an  All-Wise,  AU-Powerful,  and  All-Loving  Father 
will  do  more  to  elevate  the  nation  and  the  individ- 
ual than  all  the  universe  of  truth  beside. 


THEISM.  245 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THEISM. 

The  Argument  from  Design. — Objections  under  this  head. — The 
Atheistic  Theory  of  Chance, — The  Theistic  Argument  from 
Nature. 

Theism  is  the  doctrine  of  one  personal  God  ;  or, 
more  fully  stated,  the  doctrine  that  apart  from  and 
independent  of  the  material  universe  and  the  intel- 
ligences that  inhabit  it,  there  is  a  personal  God  who 
is  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Governor  of  all. 

The  world  in  which  we  live  is  teeming  with  life  in 
its  multiplied  forms,  with  analogies  the  most  perfect, 
with  philosophies  the  most  profound,  and  with  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  manifestations  of  de- 
sign, all  of  which,  under  the  light  of  divine  revelation, 
conspire  to  present  to  the  reflecting  mind  an  open 
book,  on  every  page  of  which  is  written,  "Omnipo- 
tence, Omniscience,  Omnipresence,  Benevolence." 
From  base  to  apex  naught  else  can  be  seen  by  the 
intelligent  eye  of  the  devout  soul  bu-t  manifestations 
of  power,  wisdom,  and  beneficence,  and  all  seek  to 
unite  with  the  Bible  in  challenging  our  implicit 
faith,  in  exciting  our  profoundest  reverence,  and  in 
filling  us  with  fervent  and  unfeigned  piety  towards 
the  great  Father.  And  the  man  who  rejects  such 
faith,   spurns   such    reverence,   and    sneers  at  such 


246  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

piety,  certainly  placards  a  most  senseless  stupidity, 
and  calls  for  the  commiseration  of  the  thoughtful. 

Any  person  of  sound  reason  and  average  com- 
mon-sense can,  as  it  seems  to  us,  understand  the 
following  logical  propositions  and  see  the  force  of 
the  logical  conclusions  to  which  they  lead: 

(1)  Every  manifestation  of  design  indicates  an  in- 
tellicrent  designer  who  existed  before  it  and  inde- 
pendent  of  it.  The  world  everywhere  manifests 
design  :  therefore  the  world  must  have  had  an  in- 
telligent  designer  existing  before  it  and  independent 

of  it. 

(2)  Every  effect  must  have  a  cause  existing  prior 
to  the  effect,  and  adequate  to  produce  it.  The 
world  is  an  effect.  Therefore  the  world  must  have 
had  a  cause  existing  prior  to  it  and  adequate  to  pro- 
duce it. 

These  arguments  are  closely  related,  and  depen- 
dent one  upon  the  other:  if  weak  they  are  doubly 
weak,  if  strong  they  are  doubly  strong — a  twofold 
cord,  at  least,  and  the  less  easily  broken. 

The  manifestation  of  design  implies  the  intel- 
ligent causation  of  that  in  which  the  design  is 
manifest:  if  no  design  is  manifest  we  cannot  infer 
intellicrent  causation.  Where  there  is  no  active 
cause  and  so  nothing  caused  to  exist,  it  is  not 
possible  that  design  can  be  seen  ;  so  causation  and 
design  are  intimately  connected.  We  who  believe 
in  theism  deem  these  arguments  strong  enough  to 
suggest  if  not  to  positively  prove  the  existence  of 


THEISM.  247 

a  God,  the  great  original  cause  and  designer  of  the 
universe — at  least  to  confirm  beyond  any  warrant- 
able quibble  or  doubt  or  successful  controversy  the 
innate  conviction  that  such  a  being  exists. 

The  first  of  these,  the  argument  from  design,  is 
sometimes  called  the  '*  teleological"  argument,  from 
the  Greek  word  ''  telos,''  end,  because  it  is  based 
upon  the  manifestation  of  an  end,  purpose,  or  de- 
sign manifested  everywhere  we  look.  This  is  the 
argument  of  Dr.  Paley  and  others,  and  would  seem 
sufficient  of  itself  to  settle  the  question  of  a  de- 
signer. 

The  second  is  called  the  "  cosmological"  argu- 
ment, because  it  is  based  upon  ih.e '' cosuios'' — the 
universe  of  order,  beauty,  and  grandeur — as  imply- 
ing an  infinite  cause  adequate  to  produce  it. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  skeptical  objectors,  how- 
ever, that  these  arguments  from  causation  and  de- 
sign, if  carried  to  their  legitimate  conclusions,  would 
prove  that  the  Creator  himself  must  have  had  a 
catise  and  a  designer:  that  thus  they  prove  too 
much,  and  hence  fail  to  prove  anything.  This  has 
been  most  ingeniously  set  forth  by  Strauss,  who 
states  his  objection  thus:  "According  to  the  kiw 
that  everything  must  have  a  sufficient  cause,  the 
so-called  argument  infers  from  the  existence  of  the 
world  the  necessary  existence  of  a  personal  God. 
Of  all  the  various  things  which  we  perceive  in  the 
world  not  one  is  self-existent,  each  owing  its  origin 
to  something  else,  which,  however,  is  in  like  predica- 


248  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ment  of  owing  its  origin  to  some  other  thing.  Thus 
reflection  is  ever  sent  on  from  one  thing  to  another, 
and  never  rests  until  it  has  reached  the  thought  of 
One  Being,  the  cause  of  whose  existence  rests  not 
with  another  but  in  himself,  who  is  no  longer  a  con- 
tingent   but  a  necessary  existence." 

Having  stated  the  proposition  entirely  to  his  own 
liking,  Strauss  proceeds  to  answer  thus  :  ''  If  we  in- 
variably arrive  at  the  conclusion  in  regard  to  every 
individual  existence  or  phenomenon  in  the  world, 
examine  as  many  as  we  please,  that  each  has  the 
ground  of  its  existence  in  some  other,  which  again 
stands  in  the  same  predicament  as  regards  some- 
thing else,  then  we  justly  conclude  that  the  same 
law  obtains  with  regard  to  all  individual  existences 
and  phenomena,  even  those  which  we  have  not  espe- 
cially examined.  But  are  we  then  justified  in  con- 
cluding the  totality  of  these  individual  existences 
and  phenomena  to  be  caused  by  a  being  not  simi- 
larly conditioned,  which  has  not,  like  these,  the 
source  of  its  existence  in  something  else,  but  in  it- 
self? This  is  a  conclusion  devoid  of  all  coherence, 
all  logic."  ("The  Old  Faith  and  the  New,"  p.   131.) 

According  to  this  statement  and  answer,  we  should 
be  obliged  to  admit  that  the  argument  drawn  from 
design  is  ''  devoid  of  all  coherence,  all  logic."  But 
both  statement  and  answer  are  wholly  at  fault  in 
that  they  assume  that  God  himself  is  but  another 
manifestation  of  design,  which  in  turn  must  in  like 
manner  be  accounted  for — another  effect  which  it- 


THEISM.  249 

self  must  have  had  a  cause.  They  assume  that  God 
is  a  "  being  similarly  conditioned  "  with  all  other 
phenomena  of  design.  But  we  aver  that  there  is  no 
such  similarity.  While  fitness,  adaptation,  arrange- 
ment, and  design  may  be  seen  in  all  the  works  of 
nature,  we  reverently  ask,  *'  Who  has  so  compassed 
the  parts  of  the  All-mighty  as  to  be  able  to  trace  in 
his  organism  the  marks  of  design  ?"  The  story  of 
the  stars  is  but  an  endless  tale  of  infinite  contriv- 
ance, the  half  of  which  has  never  been  told.  The 
science  of  physiology  and  anatomy  is  but  a  treatise 
upon  the  various  manifestations  of  most  skillful  de- 
vice in  the  physical  organism,  in  which  all  the  parts 
are  perfectly  adjusted  each  to  the  other,  so  as  to 
produce  the  most  perfect  and  harmonious  results. 

"According  to  a  definition  already  quoted,"  says 
Bowen,  *'  an  organism  is  that  of  which  all  the  parts 
are  mutually  ends  and  means.  So  perfect  is  this 
correspondence  of  the  parts  with  each  other  and 
with  the  whole,  that  the  eye  practiced  in  the  study 
of  them  can  from  a  minute  portion  supply  what  is 
lost  and  build  again  the  entire  system.  Give  to  the 
comparative  anatomist  a  section  of  a  single  tooth, 
and  he  will  tell  you  to  what  animal  it  belongs;  give 
him  one  scale  of  a  fish  that  no  longer  exists  except 
as  imbedded  in  red  sandstone,  and  he  will  recon- 
struct that  fish,  though  he  has  never  seen  its  entire 
fossil  remains. 

"  Which  is  the  worthier  of  admiration  here,  the 
intellect  which  infers  the  shape  and  organization  of 


250  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

the  whole  structure  from  so  small  a  remnant  of  it, 
or  that  which  so  fashioned  and  ordered  all  the  parts 
with  minute  correspondence  and  relations  that  any- 
one of  them  is  a  key  to  all  the  others?  Sagacity 
and  skill  in  their  highest  degrees  were  required  to 
find  the  key  to  the  fabric ;  and  is  there  no  proof  of 
intellio^ence  in  the  fabric  itself,  and  in  the  creation 
of  the  means  by  which  the  discovery  was  rendered 
possible  ?  As  well  might  we  say  that  the  ability  to 
read  a  book  was  indeed  a  proof  of  intellect,  but  not 
the  ability  to  write  it." 

Seeing  these  obvious  manifestations  of  design,  the 
human  mind  is  instinctively  and  irresistibly  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  is  a  designer,  and  one,  too, 
adequate  to  such  manifestations.  If  we  undertake 
to  think  of  a  designer  in  the  absence  of  all 
manifestations  of  design,  we  at  once  become  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  we  are  reaching  after  a 
fantasy.  As  a  matter  of  philosophical  fact,  the 
Creator  has  manifested  himself  to  the  creature,  not 
as  a  design,  but  only  as  a  designer.  To  grasp  the 
thought  of  God  is  to  think  of  a  contriver,  and  not  of 
a  contrivance ;  a  deviser,  and  not  a  device ;  an  in- 
ventor, and  not  an  invention. 

We  dismiss  this  atheistic  criticism  with  the  follow- 
ing plain  statement  of  the  proposition,  viz. :  The 
Paline  argument  in  favor  of  an  infinite  Contriver 
rests  wholly  on  the  foundation  of  manifest  contriv- 
ance. But  for  these  manifestations  Nature  would 
offer  no  objective  argument  in  favor  of  an  infinite 


THEISM.  251 

Creator.  This  atheistic  criticism,  therefore,  is  wholly 
groundless,  in  that  it  assumes  that  which  is  funda- 
mental in  the  argument,  and  that,  too,  which  it  can- 
not prove :  viz.,  that  when  the  human  mind  has  com- 
passed, somewhat,  the  world  of  manifest  contrivance, 
and  has  assigned  an  adequate  contriver,  it  then 
apprehends  the  infinite  Creator  as  being  himself  a 
contrivance  which  in  turn  must  have  had  a  contriver. 
"This  is  a  conclusion  devoid  of  all  coherence,  all 
logic." 

Again,  this  foundation  of  our  faith  has  been  assailed 
with  the  argument  that  though  man  may  have  a 
conscious  conception  of  a  design,  we  must  not  from 
this  conclude  that  the  seeming  manifestations  of 
design  in  Nature  must,  in  like  manner,  have  origi- 
nated in  an  intelligent  Creator. 

"  We,  being  men,"  says  Strauss,  "  are  only  capable 
of  a  work  the  parts  of  which  shall  harmonize  for  the 
attainment  of  a  certain  result,  by  means  of  the  con- 
scious selection  of  means ;  but  we  must  not  there- 
fore conclude  that  natural  works  of  a  like  description 
can  only  have  been  produced  by  the  corresponding 
agency  of  an  intelligent  Creator.  This  by  no  means 
follows,  and  Nature  herself  proves  the  fallacy  of  the 
assumption  that  adaptation  can  only  be  the  work  of 
a  conscious  intelligence." 

The  only  proof  from  "  Nature"  offered  for  this  in- 
coherency  of  logic  is  a  quotation  from  Schopenhauer, 
who  says,  "  Just  as  instinct  is  an  activity  apparently 
displayed  in  obedience  to  a  conscious  aim,  and  yet 


252  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

acting  without  any  such  aim,  so  is  it  with  the  opera- 
tions of  Nature." 

This  reference  to  instinct,  so  far  from  disproving 
the  actual  existence  of  an  infinite  Creator,  only  goes 
to  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  proposition  which  it 
seeks  to  contradict.  The  bee,  for  example,  constructs 
a  symmetrical  hexagonal  cell,  which  "  is  an  activity 
apparently  displayed  in  obedience  to  a  conscious 
aim,  and  yet  acting  without  any  such  aim." 

In  this  proposition  there  are  two  facts  conceded : 
viz.,  first,  that  there  is  apparent  a  "  conscious  aim," 
and  secondly,  that  the  bee  acted  "  without  any  such 
aim."  This  double  concession  leads  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  "  conscious  aim"  must  have  been  in  the 
mind  of  the  Being  who  implanted  the  "  instinct ;" 
for  it  is  no  more  possible  for  the  human  mind  to 
witness  such  manifestations  of  contrivance  without 
associating  with  it  a  contriver  equal  to  the  task 
than  it  is  to  think  intelligently  of  any  other  effect 
without  an  adequate  cause.  The  mere  effort  at 
such  thinking  will  convince  any  one  that  it  is  not 
thinkable. 

The  bee-cell,  together  with  the  bee-hive,  as  con- 
ceded, speak  not  of  "  conscious  aim"  on  the  part  of 
the  bee,  but  rather  they  declare  plainly  the  match- 
less wisdom  of  the  Creator  of  the  bee,  who  is  too 
wise  to  make  a  mistake. 

"  The  skill  and  ingenuity,  then,"  says  Bowen  in  his 
Lowell  lectures,  "  which  appear  in  the  works  of  the 
lower  animals  are  not  referable  to  the  animals  them- 


THEISM.  •    253 

selves,  but  must  proceed  from  some  higher  power, 
working  above  the  sphere  of  their  consciousness." 

The  simple  fact  that  the  little,  tiny  bee,  with 
almost  no  brain,  manifests  a  skill  of  contrivance 
which  baffled  human  philosophy  for  over  three 
thousand  years,  is  a  truth  of  itself  in  favor  of  the 
existence  of  an  infinitely  wise  Creator,  which  stands 
as  the  Gibraltar  against  which  the  missiles  of  atheism 
have  been  and  forever  may  be  hopelessly  hurled. 

To  suppose  that  Nature,  in  all  its  parts,  is  but  an 
obvious  manifestation  of  design,  and  yet  is  without 
an  infinite  Designer,  is  to  suppose  that ''  the  universe 
is  constructed  on  a  lie,"  in  that   it  manifests  "an 
activity  displayed  in  obedience  to  a  conscious  aim" 
when  in   fact  it  is  only  a  hypocritical  pretension. 
Such  incoherency  of  conclusion  destroys   the  very 
foundation  of  all  philosophical  reasoning,  and  belongs 
only  to  those  whose  obliquity  of  vision  is  incapable 
of  discerning  the  relation  between  '*  cause  and  effect." 
Thus  this  atheistic  argument,  which  has  been  most 
ingeniously  wrought  up  with  the  view  of  disproving 
the  existence  of  God,  is  clearly  seen  to  join  the  univer- 
sal testimony  in  proof  of  that  ever-presiding  Wisdom. 
From  the  foregoing  it  would  seem  that  reason  has 
no  resting-place  but  in  the  conclusion  of  a  personal 
God ;  all  else  is  blind  chance.     The  common  senti- 
ment of  mankind,  in  all  ages  and  countries,  has  been, 
and  now  is,  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Intelligence,  who 
created  all  worlds  of  mind    and  matter,  who  con- 
trived all  the  analogies  of  animate  and  inanimate 


254  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

nature,  all  the  philosophies  of  physical  and  mental 
science,  and  all  the  unnumbered  manifestations  of 
design  which  are  everywhere  to  be  seen.  Simple 
faith  in  the  existence  of  one  Supreme  Being  will 
account  for  all  worlds,  together  with  all  their 
•  varied  phenomena.  The  ''  fool,"  who  "  hath  said 
in  his  heart  There  is  no  God,"  has  in  his  folly  forced 
himself  to  believe  an  almost  infinite  catalogue  of  the 
grossest  absurdities.  For  example,  he  will  not  deny 
the  existence  of  these  external  worlds,  nor  reject 
those  obvious  manifestations  of  analogies,  philoso- 
phies, and  designs  ;  but,  when  called  upon  to  account 
for  all  these  significant  expressions  of  infinite  wis- 
dom, as  reason  has  no  resting-place,  he  blindly  con- 
cludes that  all  these  things  are  the  result  of  chance, 
or  that  they  have  somehow  fortuitously  made  them- 
selves. 

Having  denied  the  existence  of  a  Creator  and 
Contriver,  he  has  lost  his  moorings,  and  is  therefore 
driven,  as  we  have  sought  to  show,  from  one  inde- 
fensible position  to  another,  until  he  comes  at  last 
to  the  end  of  his  sacrilegious  logic,  where  he  is  forced 
by  his  own  superlative  folly  to  declare  that  all 
thinsrs  are  but  the  result  of  "a  fortuitous  concourse 
of  atoms." 

We  shall  be  amply  repaid  for  the  service  of  ana- 
lyzing this  atheistic  thought  if  by  so  doing  we  shall 
not  only  see  the  utter  folly  of  atheism,  but,  moreover, 
be  made  stronger  in  our  implicit  faith  in  the  ever- 
present  God. 


THEISM.  255 

The  atheist,  to  have  the  benefit  of  his  own  con- 
clusions, must  beUeve  that  all  worlds,  together  with 
all  their  varied  phenomena,  are  but  the  result  of  an 
infinite  succession  of  accidents.     He  must  believe 
that  the  sun  accidentally  shines,  that  the  rain  acci- 
dentally falls,  that  the  grass  accidentally  grows,  and 
that  thus  the  wants  of  the  accidental  animal  king- 
dom are  all  met  by  the  accidental  vegetable  kingdom. 
He  believes,  too,  that  all  this  innumerable  host  of 
animals,  from  the  lowest  to   the  highest,  together 
with  the  world  of  instinct  and  of  mind,  all  of  which 
bear  obvious  marks  of  infinite  wisdom— yea,  even 
man,  with  his  boundless  capabilities— all,  ALL  are  but 
the  result  of  an  "  infinite  succession  of  accidents," 
happening  among  the  primal  "atoms." 

But  the  credulity  of  an  atheist   is  elastic  beyond 
comparison.     Calling   himself   a  man  of  science,  he 
believes   that    this   earth    is    accidentally  revolving 
upon  its  axis  at  the  rate  of  over  one  thousand  miles 
an   hour;    that    it   swings  around    the   sun    at    the 
swift  rate  of  over  sixty-eight    thousand  miles   per 
hour ;  and  that  each  and  all  of  these  mighty  worlds 
are  accidentally  flying   with   a   velocity  which    far 
transcends   our   present    Hmited    attainments.     He 
believes,  too,  that  all  this  superlatively  grand   con- 
course of  accidental  worlds  is  accidentally  observ- 
ing the   most  unchangeable  law  of  order  and  har- 
mony  ;  still  more,  he  believes  that  if  but  a  solitary 
one  of  this  vast  assemblage  of  worlds  was  to  acci- 
dentally miss  its  trackless  way  in  its  rapid  flight, 


256  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

then  the  entire  system,  which  during  all  the  ages 
past  has  presented  not  one  solitary  discordant  note, 
would  at  once  collapse  into  a  universal  discord,  in 
which  worlds  would  rush  upon  worlds  with  the 
rapidity  of  a  thunderbolt,  presenting  a  scene  so  ter- 
rific that  even  our  highest  imagination  would  ut- 
terly fail  to  conceive  the  merest  outline  of  a  spec- 
tacle at  once  so  wonderfully  fearful  and  so  awfully 
sublime. 

The  fool,  who  "  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is 
no  God,"  believes  all  this,  and  ten  thousand  things 
besides  which  are  equally  absurd. 

Now  if  there  be  a  man  on  the  globe  whose  cre- 
dulity accidentally  enables  him  to  believe  that  all 
these  things  are  the  results  of  a  ''  fortuitous  con- 
course of  atoms,"  then,  in  the  same  "infinite  suc- 
cession of  accidents,"  we  accidentally  regard  him 
as  being  the  most  credulous  compound  of  atoms 
which  his  fortuitous  ancestry  ever  accidentally  pro- 
duced. 

That  this  atheistic  darkness  may  be  more  visible 
and  its  confusion  more  confounded,  the  atheist  has 
been  made  to  say:  "Talk  of  providence!  There 
is  no  such  thing.  I  have  been  through  the  uni- 
verse, and  there  is  no  God.  God  is  but  a  whim  of 
man ;  nature  is  only  an  accidental  concourse  of 
atoms;  thought  is  simply  an  accidental  function  of 
matter,  an  accidental  secretion  from  an  accidental 
brain,  an  accidental  result  of  an  accidental  result — 
merely  a  chance  shot   from  the  great  wind-gun  of 


THEISM.  257 

the  universe,  which  itself  also  is  only  a  chance 
shot  from  a  chance  charge  of  a  chance  gun,  acci- 
dentally loaded,  pointed  at  random,  and  fired  off  by 
chance." 

Though  atheism,  as  an  avowed  faith,  has  ever 
been,  is  now,  and  ever  will  continue  to  be  a  subject 
of  supreme  ridicule,  yet  what  humanity  needs  most 
in  order  to  excite  it  to  exalted  thought  and  urge 
it  to  worthy  deeds  is,  not  mere  disbelief  in  the  su- 
perlative folly  of  atheism,  but  that  every  faculty  of 
the  mind  be  absorbed  with  the  infinite  thought  of 
the  ever-present,  all-powerful,  all-wise,  and  holy 
Father. 

We  are  told  that  when  Lafayette  was  cast  into 
prison  and  thrust  back  into  a  dismal  cell,  he  could 
not  even  peep  through  the  keyhole  of  his  dungeon- 
door  without  meeting  the  eye  of  a  sentinel  directed 
upon  him.  So  likewise  we,  if  we  would  be  excited 
to  exalted  thought  and  to  the  most  noble  deeds 
while  in  our  earthly  prison,  must  so  train  our  men- 
tal vision  as  to  see  the  eye  of  God  during  all  the 
dark  hours  through  which  we  are  called  to  pass. 
As  the  Israelites,  while  passing  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  promised  land,  needed  the  pillar  of 
cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night,  so  we  need  to 
see  the  All-Father  in  all  his  glorious  manifestations, 
above  all,  and  in  view  of  all,  beckoning  us  on  and 
still  on,  higher  and  still  higher,  until  our  redemp- 
tion is  complete,  and  we  stand  as  peers  with  those 
who  sing : 
17 


258  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

"God  !  let  the  torrents  like  a  shout  of  nations 
Answer,  and  let  the  ice  plains  echo,  God  ! 
God,  sing  ye  meadow-streams  with  gladsome  voice  ; 
Ye  pine-groves,  with  your  soft  and  soul-like  sounds  ; 
And  they  too  have  a  voice,  yon  piles  of  snow, 
And  in  their  perilous  fall  shall  thunder— God  ! 
....  Tell  thou  the  silent  sky, 
And  tell  the  stars,  and  tell  yon  rising  sun, 
Earth,  with  her  thousand  voices,  praises  God." 

That  we  may  contemplate  God  as  everywhere 
present,  let  us  remember  that  ''  the  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse are  but  the  tracks  of  his  chariot-wheels,  and 
their  rumbling  marks  his  everlasting  goings."  The 
vast  machinery  of  the  universe,  great  and  small, 
speaks  in  language  which  cannot  be  misunderstood 
of  the  ever-present  "  I  Am  that  I  Am."  When 
you  visited  the  grand  Exposition  in  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  stood  in  "  Power  Hall,"  where  the  art 
of  man  seemed  to  have  culminated, — where  you 
saw  steam-engines  great  and  small,  wheels  within 
wheels,  pulleys  upon  pulleys,  bands  interwoven  with 
bands,  and  yet  all  running  with  such  exactness  as 
to  bring  about  one  harmonious  result, — where  mech- 
anism and  genius  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  for 
the  mastery, — what  would  you  have  thought  of  the 
wisdom,  or  rather  supreme  folly,  of  a  man  who 
would  stand  up  there  and  gravely  tell  you  that  all 
that  manifestation  of  power,  wisdom,  skill,  and 
genius  was  but  the  result  of  a  long  succession  of 
accidents?  Doubtless  you  would  regard  him  as  a 
fit  subject  for  an  insane  asylum. 


THEISM.  259 

But  such   manifestations  of  skill   in  contrivance 
dwindle  away  into  comparative  insignificance  in  the 
mind  of  the  true  philosopher,  as  he  stands  in  the 
midst  of  God's  great  "  Power  Hall,"  gazing  up  into 
the  heavens,  resplendent  with  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  an  infinite  skill,  looks  down  into   the   bowels  of 
the  earth,  teeming  with  manifestations  of  wisdom 
and   benevolence,   observes   earth,  sea,  and   sky,  all 
full   to  overflowing  with  an   infinite   variety  of   ex- 
pressions of  wisdom,  power,  and  glory.      He   sees 
God's  vast    machine-shop,   with    its  wheels  within 
wheels  without  number,  with  its  pulleys  upon  pul- 
leys innumerable,  with  bands  interwoven  with  bands, 
as  they  run  off  through  the  immensity  of  space — 
and  yet  all  unitedly  conspiring  to  bring  about  one 
grand  and  harmonious  result,  speaking  to  the  mind 
of  the   Christian   philosopher    with    ten    thousand 
tongues,  uttering  the  praise   and   glory  of   God,  so 
that  he   can  join  with  the  harmonious   universe   in 
the  beautiful  language   of  inspiration,  "  Great  and 
marvellous  are    thy  works.   Lord  God     Almighty; 
just  and  true  are  thy  ways,   thou  King  of  saints  : 
who  should  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy 


name! 


t" 


How  comparatively  insignificant  are  all  the  mani- 
festations of  man's  power  and  wisdom  in  the  mind 
of  the  Christian  astronomer,  as  he  stands  amid  the 
stellar  system,  contemplating  the  harmony  of  the 
spheres!  He  beholds  the  sun  as  the  grand  center, 
around  which  are  revolving  sixteen  planets,  of  which 


26o  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

our  earth  is  one,  thirteen  satellites,  of  which  our 
moon  is  one  ;  and  as  he  calculates  the  rapidity  of 
their  motions,  he  perceives  that  each  and  all  are 
observing  such  regularity  and  harmony  of  move- 
ment as  to  enable  him  to  look  forward  into  the 
depths  of  time  and  tell  every  eclipse  that  will  hap- 
pen for  thousands  of  years  to  come,  and  then  look 
back  into  the  dim  vista  of  the  past  and  recount 
every  eclipse  that  has  occurred  since  the  creation  of 
Adam.  And,  while  contemplating  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  omniscience  and  omnipotence  of  Him 
who  first  brought  these  mighty  worlds  into  being, 
and  who  still  controls  and  guides  them  in  their 
rapid  flight  along  their  trackless  way,  he  may  well 
break  forth  in  the  sublime  words  of  the  immortal 
Addison : 

"  The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim. 

*•  In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice, 
Forever  singing,  as  they  shine, 
'  The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine.'" 

In  calling  attention  to  the  arguments  of  Nature 
in  favor  of  the  existence  of  a  God,  it  has  been  no 
part  of  our  purpose  to  enter  into  the  details  of 
facts,  but  rather  to  excite  to  a  general  view  of  the 
whole  broad  field  of  philosophy.  For  the  same 
divine  wisdom   and  power    which  are  witnessed  in 


THEISM.  261 

the  flying  of  a  world  may  be  seen  all  the  way  down 
through  Nature,  to  the  little  morning  dewdrop  as  it 
quietly  reposes  on  the  tiny  grass.  It  may  there- 
fore safely  be  said  that  no  man  can  think  in  a 
straight  line  and  deny  the  existence  of  a  God,  for 
every  mental  step  in  the  divine  process,  from  the 
first  to  the  last,  must  go  to  convince  him  of  the 
truth  of  the  proposition  which  only  the  fool  in  his 
heart  has  denied. 

Furthermore,    all    these    manifestations    of    the 
Supreme    have  always  characterized  the  works  of 
Nature.     But  the  darkness  of  the  human  mind  was 
unable  to  comprehend  the  *'  Light  of  the  world." 
Hence,  "  when  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by 
wisdom  knew  not   God,  it   pleased  God "  to  make 
these  manifestations  of    his    thought   "  Flesh,   and 
thus  he  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  his  glory, 
the  glory  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full 
of  grace  and  truth."     Thus  God  would  speak  to  us 
in  such   unmistakable  words,   both   in    nature   and 
revelation,  that  we  can  no  more  deny  the  existence 
of  an  ever-present  God  than  we  can  deny  our  own 
being.     And  yet  men  speak  and  act  as  if  they  had 
no  faith  in  any  such  sublime  and  awful  truth.     For 
a  mean,  sordid,  and  vulgar  life,  with  any  profession 
of   faith   in  the  ever-present,  holy  One,  presents  an 
inexplicable   paradox.     For  instance,  suppose  that 
we  were  placed  in  the  midst  of  a  great  amphithea- 
ter, around  which  are  a  vast  number  of  seats,  rising 
one  above  another,  stretching  off  in  every  direction. 


262  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

Imagine  these  seats  filled  with  an  immense  assem- 
bly of  the  wisest  and  best  men  of  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries. Suppose,  further,  that  we  were  fully  con- 
scious that  the  thoughts  and  eyes  of  this  noble 
multitude  were  intently  fixed  upon  us,  hearing 
every  word  we  utter  and  witnessing  every  act  we 
perform.  Think  you  that  under  such  gaze  we  would 
be  likely  to  utter  an  obscene  or  blasphemous  word, 
or  do  a  base  and  unworthy  thing?  We  instinc- 
tively declare  that  the  man  who  would  disregard 
such  noble  presence  is  lost  to  every  sense  of  pro- 
priety. But  how  paltry  and  ignoble  are  the  eyes 
and  ears  of  the  best  of  our  poor  humanity,  when 
once  compared  with  the  seeing  and  hearing  of  the 
Infinite  One,  who  is  seated  upon  his  own  exalted 
and  holy  throne,  witnessing  every  act  we  perform, 
and  hearing  every  word  we  utter,  yea,  knowing 
every  thought  and  motive  of  the  soul  as  they  pass 
in  awful  review  before  the  divine  presence !  "  Let 
the  idea  of  God  be  cherished  until  it  becomes  the 
chief  thought  of  the  soul,  the  center  of  its  affections, 
the  source  of  its  joys,  the  foundation  of  its  hopes, 
the  circumference  of  its  knowledge.  Let  it  be  the 
first  article  of  our  creed,  on  which  all  others  depend, 
and  which,  though  all  others  be  given  up,  must 
remain.  Whatever  else  we  may  doubt,  let  us  never 
look  up  into  the  midst  of  this  universe  of  order, 
harmony,  and  grandeur,  to  call  in  question  its  pre- 
siding Mind." 

Only  let  the  soul  in  its  meditations  hover  about 


THEISM.  263 

the  thought  of  the  All-Father  as  the  bird  fluttei-^ 
about  its  nest,  and  then  it  will  matter  but  little 
whether  comes  wealth  or  poverty,  health  or  sick- 
ness, life  or  death.  The  infinite  Spirit  "  no  man 
hath  seen  or  can  see,"  and  yet  he  comes  to  meet 
the  soul's  capacity  and  necessity  in  the  person  of 
Him  who  "spake  as  man  never  spake,"  and  who 
has  promised  the  '^  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide 
with  you  forever."  Under  the  light  and  inspira- 
tion of  the  *'  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  both  Na- 
ture and  Providence  speak  to  us  with  ceaseless 
voice  of  the  ever-presence  of  Him  who  is  the  maker 
of  our  bodies  and  the  giver  of  our  spirits. 

*'  Beyond,  beyond  that  boundless  sea, 

Above  the  dome  of  sky, 
Farther  than  thought  itself  can  flee, 

Thy  dwelling  is  on  high  ; 
Yet  dear  the  awful  thought  to  me, 

That  thou,  my  God,  art  nigh." 


PART    IV. 
ANTHROPOLOGY. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Activity  in  physical  research, — Importance  of  the  study  of  man. 
— Spiritual  hinderances  of  a  low  view. — Man's  nature,  or  shift- 
ing his  moral  responsibilities  to  Adam  or  Satan. — Origin  and 
destiny  of  man. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  unparalleled  mental  activity. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  Adamite  creation,  there 
were  never  such  long  and  rapid  strides  taken  in  the 
discoveries  of  science  and  the  development  of  art 
as  at  this  hour.  Men  are  delving  into  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  that  they  may  break  the  seals  of  the  old 
book  and  present  the  open  history  of  a  wise  and 
beneficent  Providence,  while  others  are  ascending 
the  skies  that  they  may  tell  the  story  of  the  stars, 
which  is  but  an  endless  tale  of  glory  and  God,  and 
still  others  exploring  the  broad  field  of  philosophy. 

Christian  civilization  is  but  a  vast  university,  in 
which  there  is  a  world  of  books  and  apparatus,  and  in 
which  the  coherency  of  work  is  a  logic  almost  divine. 
The  workers  and  the  work  are  so  perfectly  classified 


ANTHROPOLOGY.  265 

that  every  possible  field  of  thought  is  being  occupied. 
Biography,  history,  and  law ;  geology,  mathematics, 
and  astronomy ;  logic,  oratory,  and  poetry ;  agricul- 
ture, mechanism,  and  political  economy  ;  mineralogy, 
zoology,  and  chemistry ;  physiology,  psychology, 
ethics,  and  religion — all  these  open  doors  of  thought 
are  being  entered  with  an  enthusiasm  which  promises 
success.  And  such,  too,  is  the  sharpness  of  division 
and  the  earnestness  of  work,  that  no  man  need  hope 
for  success  unless  he  chooses  his  field  and  prepares 
to  have  every  inch  of  his  ground  contested. 

But  while  the  outer  world  is  being  explored,  dis- 
covered, and  revealed  as  never  before,  there  is  an 
inner  world  to  which  too  little  attention  has  been 
given.  Into  this  inner  world  we  invite  you.  It  is 
well  that  we  know  the  world  and  the  men  that  are 
in  it,  but  infinitely  better  that  each  man  should  know 
himself,  as  to  his  origin,  his  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics, his  unique  organism,  and  his  consequent 
duty  and  eternal  destiny. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  thought  of  God  is  that 
of  man.  The  second  greatest  **  study  of  man  is 
man."  Ancient  Greece  reached  the  zenith  of  her 
glory  largely  under  the  inspiration  of  that  motto, 
**  Know  thyself."  This  inscription  was  engraven  on 
the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  in  such  a  position 
that  the  worshiper,  coming  from  any  point  of  the 
compass,  might  be  urged  to  self-examination  as  to 
his  competency  and  consequent  duties.  Could  the 
individual  soul  but  clearly  see  its  inwrapped  possi- 


266  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

bilities,  in  its  germs  of  intellectuality,  sociality,  mo- 
rality, and  religiosity  ;  could  it  but  fully  compre- 
hend the  inexorable  laws  under  which  these  germs 
may  be  developed  into  their  possible  glory ;  and 
could  it  but  will,  *'  with  a  will,"  that  these  native 
powers  of  soul  shall  be  brought  into  harmony  with 
the  administration  of  these  laws  of  its  being — then 
would  life  become  sublime,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  would  ''become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord, 
and  of  his  Christ"!  Seeing  this  goodly  soul-heri- 
tage as  it  came  from  the  molding  hand  of  God,  if 
the  individual  could  but  also  see  how  sin  will  despoil 
all  that  is  beautiful  in  nature  and  lovely  in  virtue, 
and  how,  if  persisted  in,  it  will  destroy  the  native 
energies  of  the  soul  until  hope  is  all  gone  and  a  dark 
cloud  of  despair  shrouds  the  specter  with  "  the 
blackness  of  darkness" — could  the  soul  but  see  this 
picture  of  beauty  and  deformity  as  Christ  and  angels 
see  it,  doubtless  it  would  turn  from  sin  as  from  the 
deadliest  poison,  and  cleave  to  that  which  is  good. 

Nor  is  it  well  to  regard  the  soul  as  being  too  mean 
and  ignoble  to  claim  the  attention  of  its  Divine 
Father.  Any  teaching,  whether  from  the  pulpit  or 
press,  which  leads  a  man  to  put  a  low  estimate  on 
the  native  abilities  of  his  soul  must  of  necessity 
hinder  him  in  his  God-ward  strivings.  That  this  is 
true  of  the  intellect  is  hardly  a  subject  of  dispute. 
The  teacher  who  has  succeeded  in  convincing  the 
little  boy  that  he  is  by  nature  the  most  stupid  child 
in  the  school  has  gone  far  in  the  direction  of  help- 


ANTHROPOLOGY.  267 

ing  him  to  remain  sluggish  and  stupid.  And  if  he 
is  further  successful  in  making  him  believe  that  he 
is  not  only  most  obtuse,  but  moreover  that  he  has 
no  native  ability  to  be  anything  else  than  a  senseless 
idle-pate,  then  the  work  of  discouragement  is  com- 
plete, and  the  boy  has  not  even  the  courage  to  make 
an  effort  to  be  anything  else  than  a  dull-witted  thick- 
head. 

Analogy  suggests  that  what  is  true  of  the  intellect 
is  also  true  of  man's  moral  and  religious  nature. 
And  what  analogy  suggests  observation  and  experi- 
ence demonstrate.  Let  a  man  be  made  to  believe, 
first,  that  he  is  practically  a  devil,  and,  secondly, 
that  he  has  no  ability  to  be  anything  else  than  a 
devil,  then  of  necessity  a  devil  he  will  be.  For  ex- 
ample, if  a  man  be  chained  to  the  ground  until  he  is 
convinced,  beyond  even  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that 
it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  move  either 
hand  or  foot,  the  argument  is  that  then  he  cannot 
even  make  an  intelligent  effort  to  stir  either.  There 
may  be  spasmodic  or  involuntary  exertion,  but  no 
intelligent  effort,  for  his  reason  has  been  convinced 
that  he  cannot  succeed.  So,  likewise,  if  a  man  be 
told,  by  speech  or  print,  not  only  that  he  is  first  by 
nature  a  devil,  and,  secondly,  that  he  has  no  native 
power  to  be  anything  else  than  a  devil,  but  shall  so 
be  convinced  that  he  is  left  without  even  the  ghost 
of  a  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  what  he  has  been 
taught,  then  from  necessity  he  cannot  even  try  to 
climb  from  the  pit  of  hopeless  despair.  .  One  of  the 


268  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

hopeful  *'  facts"  is,  that  men  do  not  believe  all,  and 
often  not  half,  that  they  hear  and  read.  If  a  good 
man  should  chance  to  teach,  by  tongue  or  pen,  that 
such  is  the  nature  of  man  that  it  is  not  possible  for 
him  to  **  think  a  good  thought,  speak  a  good  word, 
^or  do  a  commendable  deed,"  the  thing  for  which 
that  good  man  should  be  most  thankful  is  that  the 
world  does  not  believe  one  solitary  word  of  it  all.  If  it 
did,  alas  for  human  hopes  and  goodly  endeavor! 
We  are  not  saying  this  in  defense  of  the  man  who, 
by  his  own  wicked  choice,  has  so  perverted  his  God- 
given  nature  that  he  has  become  ''  totally  depraved," 
but  to  vindicate  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  Him 
who  "  made  man  in  his  own  image."  The  soul,  now 
as  ever,  as  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  God,  is  endowed 
with  a  divine  legacy  of  germinal  power,  which  if 
trained  under  appointed  law  will  achieve  its  pre- 
scribed destiny  of  superlative  glory,  and  sit  down 
under  the  approval,  ''  Well  done." 

As  it  is  not  well  to  regard  the  soul  as  being  too 
ignoble  to  challenge  the  love  of  its  heavenly  Father, 
so  neither  is  it  helpful  to  charge  our  misdeeds  to 
the  account  of  Adam,  the  devil,  or  any  one  else.  If 
we  would  allow  the  Father's  scourge  of  conscience 
to  do  its  perfect  work,  we  must  have  no  scapegoats 
for  our  sins.  If  from  senseless  stupidity  or  vicious 
purpose  we  have  violated  the  laws  of  our  being,  it 
will  be  both  creditable  and  helpful  to  confess  that 
we,  not  Adam  nor  Satan,  were  responsible  for  the 
violation.     And  however  much  we  may  be  inclined 


ORIGIN   OF   MAN.  269 

to  shift  responsibility,  conscience,  the  "voice  of  God 
in  man,"  will  hold  us  to  strict  account. 

So  far  as  we  may  be  led  to  regard  the  soul  as  ig- 
noble in  its  birth  and  native  possibilities,  and  (to 
the  extent  that  we  are  influenced)  to  charge  our 
misdeeds  to  some  one  else  than  ourselves,  by  so  far 
we  shall  be  deterred  from  entering  upon  a  career 
that  will  make  life  grand,  death  triumphant,  and 
heaven  an  achieved  reality.  If  we  would  have  an 
exalted  view  of  the  soul's  nature  and  clearly  compre- 
hend its  consequent  obligations,  it  is  well  to  trace 
our  lineage  and  our  destiny.  What  is  the  history 
of  our  origin?  What  distinguishes  us  from  the  rest 
of  animate  nature?  What  the  unique  character  of 
the  soul,  and  what  its  consequent  duty  and  destiny? 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

ORIGIN   OF  MAN. 

Mosaic  account  of  creation  distinct  ;  scientific  accounts  at  vari- 
ance.— If  Evolution  is  God's  method  of  creation,  it  will  prevail. 
— But  it  rests  on  Analogy,  which  proves  nothing, — Reason  de- 
mands proof  of  transformation  of  species. — Degeneration  as 
plausible  as  Evolution. — Darwin's  labors  of  priceless  value,  but 
not  conclusive. — Evolutionary  theory  not  sustained. — Even  if 
granted,  it  fails  to  account  for  the  mental  and  spiritual  Man. 

While  the  origin  of  man  as  reported  by  Moses 
is  clear  and   easy  of   comprehension,  the   theories 


2/0  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

of  modern  so-called  Science  are  both  complex  and 
irreconcilable.  Not  that  revelation  and  true  science 
give  two  distinct  and  contradictory  accounts  of 
creation,  nor  that  Nature  is  antagonistic  in  its  re- 
ports, but  rather  scientific  men  are  at  war  on  the 
question  of  the  origin  of  man. 

Until  the  teachings  of  nature  are  so  clearly  com- 
prehended that  scientists  are  perfectly  agreed  as 
to  the  when  and  how  of  man's  creation,  we  might 
safely  believe  that  the  Mosaic  account  will  stand 
the  touchstone  of  science  for  the  ages  to  come  as 
it  has  stood  that  of  the  ages  past.  With  a  view 
to  casting  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  popular 
faith,  however,  it  may  be  well  to  institute  a  com- 
parison between  these  conflicting  reports  of  the 
origin  and  history  of  man,  especially  when  neither 
the  one  view  nor  the  other  reflects  upon  the  crea- 
tive wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  nor  in  anywise 
compromises  the  religion  of  the  Christ  of  the  Bible. 

When  the  theory  of  evolution  was  first  set  forth 
by  Darwin,  it  was  thought  by  those  who  had  pet 
theories  of  Bible  exegesis  that  in  the  event  of  such 
heresy  becoming  universally  popular,  then,  as  the 
*'  fittest  must  survive,"  religion  must  render  its 
tribute  to  mutability  and,  as  a  fossil,  be  consigned 
to  the  past.  But  such  periodicity  of  human  theo- 
logical fright  has  always  characterized  the  history 
of  those  whose  interpretation  of  the  Bible  was  of 
the  '' iron-bedstead"  pattern.  The  time  was  when 
Bruno  was  sacrificed,  Spinoza  consigned  to  infamy, 


ORIGIN    OF   MAN.  2/1 

and  Galileo  required  to  recant  his  heresy  or  to  be 
burned  at  the  stake,  all  for  the  reason  that  their 
theories  contradicted  a  man-made  theology,  and 
hence  were  supposed  to  be  destructive  of  the  Bible 
and  its  religion.  But  the  time  is  when  men  of  gen- 
erous thought  will  not  go  into  a  flutter  over  new 
theories  of  science,  nor  into  a  spasm  because  or- 
thodoxy is  laid  up  for  repair  and  human  theology 
is  rapidly  being  reconstructed.  Truth  may  down 
for  the  time,  but  only  to  arise,  phoenix-like,  with 
new  and  increased  vigor  in  its  conflict  with  error. 
So  we  may  joyfully  hail  every  new  theory,  whether 
true  or  false,  with  the  hope  that  the  unequal  con- 
test may  go  on,  until  truth,  which  is  the  *'  fittest," 
shall  *'  survive,"  and  until  all  forms  of  falsehood 
shall  succumb. 

The  theory  of  evolution  seeks  to  maintain  that 
man,  together  with  all  species  and  varieties  of  ani- 
mals, was  originally,  in  the  dateless  past,  wrapped 
up  in  a  few  embryonic  germs;  and  that  in  the  pro- 
cess of  development  the  principle  of  ''  natural  se- 
lection" played  so  important  a  part  as  to  destroy 
the  weaker  that  the  fittest  might  survive.  Darwin, 
after  illustrating  the  principle  of  modification  in  ani- 
mal descendants,  says :  ''  Therefore  I  cannot  doubt 
that  the  theory  of  descent  with  modification  em- 
braces all  the  members  of  the  same  great  class  or 
kingdom.  I  believe  that  animals  are  descended 
from  at  most  only  four  or  five  progenitors,  and 
plants  are  from  an  equal  or  less  number.     Analogy 


2^^  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

would  lead  me  one  step  farther,  namely,  to  the 
belief  that  all  animals  and  plants  are  descended 
from  some  one  prototype." 

Before  accepting  this  new  theory,  which  is  so 
subversive  of  the  old  faith,  it  will  be  well  to  look 
carefully  at  the  logic  of  its  conclusion.  While 
thinking  men  will  not  hold  to  a  doctrine  because  it 
is  old,  neither  will  they  reject  a  conclusion  because 
it  is  new.  If  this  new  hypothesis  can  be  shown  to 
be  God's  method  of  creation,  then  we  should  most 
heartily  conclude  that  it  was  and  is  the  wisest  and 
best  possible  process.  We  want  simply  to  know 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  any  speculation,  whether 
old  or  new. 

If  we  adopt  the  evolution-theory  of  *'  The  Origin 
of  Species,"  we  must  grant  that  the  original  mole- 
cule or  germ  had  wrapped  up  in  its  tiny  folds  not 
only  all  multiplied  forms  of  animate  physical  or- 
ganisms, but  the  peculiar  instincts  of  reptiles,  fishes, 
quadrupeds,  and  those  of  a  world  of  both  useful 
and  pestiferous  insects ;  and  still  more,  and  stranger 
by  far,  we  must  believe  that  "  one  prototype"  held 
within  its  folds  not  only  all  varieties  of  physical 
shapes,  and  all  peculiarities  of  instinct,  but  that  the 
human  soul  also,  with  its  infinite  possibilities,  was 
there  to  bide  its  time  and  trust  to  its  chance  in  the 
course  of  "  natural  selection." 

If  this  endless  variety  of  bodily  forms  and  in- 
stincts, together  with  this  sensitive  soul,  were  not 
wrapped  up  in  that  first  progenitor,  then  the  crea- 


ORIGIN   OF   MAN.  273 

tive  hand  must  have  been  at  work  ever  since  the 
creation  of  the  first  molecule.  But  to  concede 
''special  creations"  of  body  and  mind  is  but  the 
opposite  of  the  theory  of  evolution.  As  between 
these  two  theories  of  the  origin  of  man,  we  are  left 
to  choose  between  probabilities.  It  is  a  conceded 
principle  in  physico-theological  exegesis,  as  well  as 
in  Biblical  interpretation,  that  between  two  miracles 
we  should  always  choose  the  lesser.  Trained  under 
the  influence  of  immutable  law,  we  are  slow  to  be- 
lieve miracles,  and  hence  naturally  take  to  the  least. 

Certainly  "  great  is  the  faith"  of  him  whose  mind 
can  take  in  all  the  conclusions  of  this  new  theory  of 
evolution.  In  referring  to  Darwin's  theory  as  to 
the  origin  of  species,  an  eminent  divine  says  :  ''This 
view  is  unnecessarily  minute.  If  the  first  life  was 
the  production  of  a  Supreme  Intelligence,  it  is  more 
rational  to  suppose  the  creation  of  the  various  es- 
sential forms.  If  of  blind  chance  or  Nature,  it  is 
more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Nature  gave  birth 
to  existing  types  at  first  than  that  she  first  made  a 
molecule,  and  then  of  the  molecule  a  jelly-fish,  of 
the  jelly-fish  a  mollusk,  of  the  mollusk  a  verte- 
brate of  the  secondary  age,  of  this  vertebrate  an 
air-breather,  of  this  an  amphibian  animal,  of  this  a 
monkey,  and  of  the  monkey  a  man.  Nature  would 
as  readily  produce  men  at  once  as  in  this  tardy 
operation,  and  a  million  as  one,  and  now  as  an- 
ciently." 

To  this  criticism  the  evolutionist  may  with  propri- 


274  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ety  reply  that  the  question  is  not  as  to  what  the  Infi- 
nite can  do,  but  rather  what  he  has  done.  While 
we  are  not  at  liberty  to  set  limits  to  the  divine  pos- 
sibilities, we  may,  however,  seek  after  the  divine 
methods.  It  may,  moreover,  be  replied  that  while 
it  is  possible  for  God  instantaneously  to  produce  the 
stalk,  blade,  and  the  full-grown  corn,  yet  such  is  not 
the  divine  process  of  producing  corn.  And  the  fact 
that  the  stalk,  blade,  and  full-grown  corn  were  by 
divine  economy  wrapped  up  in  and  developed  from 
the  embryonic  germ  is  suggestive  of  the  new 
theory.  And  it  may  further  be  observed  that  this 
analogy  maybe  seen  running  through  both  the  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  kingdoms.  All  animals  and 
plants,  with  all  their  possibility  of  complete  devel- 
opment, were  at  first  held  within  the  folds  of  their 
respective  embryonic  germs.  Besides,  we  must 
grant  that  all  the  varieties  of  any  given  species 
have  been  evolved  from  one  prototype. 

While  the  most  able  scientists  of  the  world  claim 
direct  creation  for  the  different  species,  they  con- 
cede that  Nature's  method  of  producing  varieties  has 
been  and  is  by  the  ''  tardy  operation"  of  germinal 
development.  Doubtless  Nature  could  "as  readily 
produce  men  at  once  as  in  this  tardy  operation,  and 
a  million  as  one,  and  now  as  anciently ;"  but  we  are 
to  bear  in  mind  that  the  question  in  dispute  is  not 
that  of  dXvixv^ possibility ,h\x\.  of  divine  method.  And 
it  will  be  in  the  interest  of  truth  to  allow  that  the 
"  tardy  operation"  is  usually  the  divine  plan.     God 


ORIGIN   OF   MAN.  275 

works  slowly  but  surely  to  the  accomplishment  of 
his  wise  purpose. 

A  careful  study  of  this  new  theory  of  the  *'  Origin 
of  Species"  and  ''The  Descent  of  Man"  will  clearly 
discover  the  fact  that  the  entire  system  rests  upon 
the  foundation  of  Analogy.  And  while  we  are  not 
to  ignore  the  force  of  analogical  reasoning,  yet  we 
must  remember  that  analogy  proves  nothing.  It 
may  raise  a  strong  presumption  in  favor  of  a  propo- 
sition, and,  in  the  absence  of  conflicting  testimony, 
may  even  carry  conviction  to  the  mind  as  to  the 
truth  of  that  proposition.  But  the  presence  of  a 
single  fact  may  entirely  dissipate  all  the  arguments 
of  analogy. 

For  example,  though  analogy  suggest,  with  the 
force  of  conviction,  as  we  may  grant  it  does  to  many, 
that  all  existing  forms  of  animal  life  have  been 
evolved  from  one  original  prototype,  yet  if  in  the 
face  of  this  reasoning  from  nature  the  fact  of  the 
immutability  of  species  be  demonstrated  or  even 
shown  to  be  highly  probable,  then  the  analogical 
argument  is  not  worth  a  fig.  If  it  can  be  shown 
that  species  are  fixed,  that  God  has  not  only  "deter- 
mined the  bounds  of  their  habitation,"  but  has  said 
by  the  law  of  propagation, "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go, 
and  no  farther,"  then  all  the  presumptions  of  the 
new  theory  founded  upon  analogy  are  blown  to  the 
winds. 

But  the  difficulty  of  establishing  such  proposition 
may  be   readily  seen  in   the  fact  that  it  is  in   the 


2/6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

nature  of  proving  a  negative.  Scientists  of  the  old 
school  have  waited  long,  but  in  vain,  for  those  of  the 
new  school  to  present  one  solitary  instance  in  'which 
a  clearly  marked  species  has  produced  another  en- 
tirely different  type  of  animal.  Preparatory  to  a 
well-grounded  faith  in  the  marvelous  theory  that 
all  forms  of  animal  life,  together  with  all  the  variety 
of  animal  instincts,  and  a  human  soul  of  boundless 
ability,  have  all  been  evolved  from  a  single  germ, 
it  is  not  enough  to  have  the  suggestions  of  analogy: 
reason  demands  at  least  one  fact  going  to  show  the 
mutability  of  the  law  which  has  always  appeared  to 
be  changeless.  Reason  suggests  that  our  faith  be 
reserved  until  such  fact  be  produced. 

Meantime,  it  may  be  observed  that  there  are 
weighty  arguments  going  to  show  that  convincing 
testimony  in  favor  of  the  new  theory  will  never  be 
forthcoming.  These  arguments  are  twofold  :  First, 
the  Special  Creationists  too  have  the  suggestions  of 
analogy.  Skilled  mechanists  once  supposed  that 
perpetual  motion  was  not  only  possible  but  even 
probable.  And  such  was  the  common  faith,  that 
wise  statesmen  offered  large  premiums  to  the  man 
that  would  invent  a  machine  of  perpetual  motion. 
But  a  more  perfect  understanding  of  Nature's  laws, 
and  an  almost  endless  number  of  foolish  experi- 
ments, have  shown  that  perpetual  motion  is  an  im- 
possibility in  the  nature  of  things. 

Again,  the  suggestions  of  analogy  once  led  even 
scientific    men    to   believe    in    the    doctrine   of   the 


ORIGIN   OF   MAN.  2'JJ 

"  transmutation  of  metals."  In  the  light  of  this  new- 
hypothesis  men  confidently  expected  to  make  great 
gain  by  evolving  the  finer  from  the  baser  metals. 
But,  after  wasting  no  little  time  and  money,  they 
sadly  concluded  that  Nature  was  refractory,  and  that 
the  only  way  to  get  gold  was  to  procure  it  according 
to  the  divine  plan. 

Again,  the  seeming  facts  of  observation  once  led 
even  the  wisest  of  men  to  the  conclusion  that  wheat 
was  transformed  into  chess  (cheat).  But  here  again 
Nature  proved  rebellious,  and  men  of  **  science  and 
sense"  have  pronounced  the  theory  as  wholly  with- 
out foundation  in  fact.  That  wheat  will  change  into 
chess  is  plausible  as  a  theory,  but  as  the  fact  of  such 
mutability  has  never  been  well  attested,  to  believe 
such  a  proposition  is  to  exhibit  a  remarkable  degree 
of  credulity. 

Illustrations  suggesting  a  priori  the  fixedness  of 
species  might  be  multiplied  ;  but  we  pass  to  say, 
secondly,  that  the  facts  of  observation  go  to  corrobo- 
rate these  suggestions  of  analogy.  If  the  theory  of 
the  transmutation  of  metals  was  exploded  by  much 
and  costly  experimenting,  for  the  same  reason  we 
may  conclude  that  the  "  transformation  of  species" 
is  likewise  an  absurdity.  While  the  law  of  vari- 
ability obtains  witJiin  a  given  species  in  the  produc- 
tion of  many  varieties,  the  law  of  immutability  is  as 
clearly  seen  betiveen  distinct  species. 

Darwin  says:  "  It  cannot  be  asserted  that  organic 
beings  in  a  state  of  nature  are  subject  to  no  varia- 


2/8  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

tions."  Certainly  not,  for  we  see  great  and  varied 
varieties  whose  relationship  can  be  traced  to  a  com- 
mon progenitor.  Having  stated  a  fact  of  common 
observation,  he  then  asserts  in  the  same  sentence 
that  which  is  contrary  to  all  observation,  viz.:  ''It 
cannot  be  proved  that  the  amount  of  variation  in 
the  course  of  long  ages  is  a  limited  quantity."  If 
chemical  experimenting  proved  that  the  hypothesis 
of  the  transmutation  of  metals  was  groundless,  so 
by  repeated  effort  and  common  observation  it  has 
been  proved  that  "  variation"  in  the  production  of 
animals  **  is  a  limited  quantity."  We  may  take  ani- 
mals of  different  species  of  the  same  genus  and  make 
a  successful  cross,  but  the  offspring  are  generally 
sterile ;  and  sometimes  the  same  is  true  of  a  cross 
between  two  varieties  of  the  same  species.  Nature's 
law  says:  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther." 
This  is  a  substantial  argument,  going  to  show  that 
**  variation"  is  "  a  limited  quantity." 

The  great  apostle  of  natural  history,  Agassiz,  says : 
*'  Nothing  furnishes  the  slightest  argument  in  favor 
of  the  mutability  of  the  species.  On  the  contrary, 
every  modern  investigation  has  only  gone  to  confirm 
the  results  first  obtained  by  Cuvier,  that  species  are 
fixed."  And  the  author  quoted  above  says:  "No 
man  can,  on  Darwin's  theory,  account  for  the 
absence  of  present  spontaneous  generation."  And 
we  may  further  add :  Nor  can  Darwin,  or  any  one 
else,  on  the  hypothesis  of  evolution,  account  for  the 
well-known  sterility  of  hybrid  animals,  or  the  absence 


ORIGIN  OF  MAN.  279 

of  the  transmutation  of  distinct  species.  It  is  just 
at  this  point  that  the  whole  theory  breaks  down.  If 
it  be  assumed — for  at  best  it  is  only  an  assumption 
— that  during  the  pre-Adamite  ages  the  law  of  the 
transmutation  of  species  was  in  force,  how  is  it  and 
why  is  it  that  the  law  has  been  abrogated  during  all 
these  post-Adamite  ages  ?  No  one  claims  that  since 
Adam  monkeys  have  been  known  to  develop  into 
men,  or  into  anything  else  than  monkeys. 

But  even  though  we  concede  that  the  theory  of 
evolution  will  account  for  the  existence  of  all  the 
lower  orders  of  animals,  yet  it  utterly  fails  to  account 
for  the  origin  of  man.  Not  only  is  the  *'  missing  link" 
undiscovered,  but  the  very  nature  of  the  human 
mind,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  next  chapter,  shows 
that  it  is  philosophically  absurd  to  suppose  that  it 
ever  will  be  found.  Nor  is  it  necessary,  in  proving 
special  creation  for  man,  to  even  claim  fixedness  of 
species  among  lower  animals,  but  only  as  it  relates 
to  the  human  species.  On  this  subject  nothing 
more  need  be  said. 

But  though  we  should  admit  the  plausibility  of 
the  theory  that  all  the  higher  forms  of  being  have 
been  evolved  from  the  lower,  it  may  also  be  said 
that  it  is  even  more  plausible  to  suppose  that  the 
lower  forms  have  come  from  the  higher.  If  we  are 
ready  to  suppose — for  it  is  only  a  supposition — that 
man  has  been  evolved  from  a  primordial  cell,  in 
which  all  sorts  of  beasts,  both  clean  and  unclean, 
were  involved  with  him,  may  we  not  as  readily  sup- 


280  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

pose  that  God  epitomized  all  his  work  when  he 
created  man?  The  reasonableness  of  the  supposi- 
tion is  found  in  two  facts,  viz. : 

First,  it  is  a  concession  of  philosophy  that  man  is 
a  "little  world" — the  microcosm  of  all  created 
things.  While  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  all  the 
possibilities  of  the  world  of  instinct  are  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree  found  in  man,  it  cannot  be  said  that 
the  human  soul's  intellectuality,  morality,  and  re- 
ligion are  to  be  found  in  any  or  all  of  the  lower 
orders  of  animals.  Under  the  next  chapter  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  show  that  not  a  vestigre  of  these 
distinctive  qualities  of  man  is  to  be  found  with  any 
other  animal,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  How 
then,  we  may  well  inquire,  could  these  distinguish- 
ing qualities  of  reason,  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong, 
and  this  disposition  to  worship,  have  been  developed 
through  animals  which  have  not  the  slightest  trace 
of  these  qualities  ? 

Is  it  philosophical  to  conclude  that  the  oak  is  a 
development  of  qualities  not  contained  in  the  acorn? 
As  man  has  some  characteristics  in  common  with 
the  baboon,  we  may  more  readily  suppose  that  the 
latter  was  degenerated  from  the  former  than  that  the 
development  of  the  baboon  has  brought  to  the  man 
marvelous  qualities  of  which  his  progenitor  was 
entirely  destitute.  If  between  two  miracles  we 
should  choose  the  lesser,  it  is  certainly  less  credulous 
and  altogether  more  logical  to  suppose  that  the  man 


ORIGIN  OF   MAN.  28l 

is  father  to  the  monkey  than  that  the  monkey  is 
father  to  the  man. 

Secondly,  under  the  law  of  development  and 
growth,  and  with  the  principle  of  "  natural  selec- 
tion" in  full  force,  we  observe  degeneration  as  well  as 
improvement.  We  see  animals  running  up  to  a  high 
state  of  perfection,  and  then  retrograding  until  it  is 
said  that  the  ''  breed  has  run  out."  The  same  is 
true  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Illustrations  of  this 
proposition  are  everywhere  to  be  seen.  Nor  is  the 
race  of  man  an  exception  to  this  law  of  deteriora- 
tion. While  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  been  steadily 
coming  up  from  the  degraded  condition  of  savages, 
the  African  race,  with  "  natural  selection"  in  full 
force,  has  descended  from  a  comparatively  high 
state  of  civilization  to  that  of  semi-barbarism.  Under 
the  influence  of  evolution  and  natural  selection, 
whole  tribes,  and  even  nations,  have  become  extinct. 

While  evolution  utterly  fails  to  explain  the  divine 
law  both  of  development  into  noble  manhood  and 
of  retrogression  into  a  state  lower  than  the  beasts, 
the  Bible  is  as  clear  as  a  sunbeam. 

To  further  illustrate  the  hypothesis  of  evolution 
reversed,  we  quote  from  Dr.  Thomspn  :  "Why  not 
suppose  the  fish  a  degenerated  man  as  reasonably 
as  the  man  a  developed  fish?  May  we  not  reason 
downward  as  well  as  upward  ?  Here  is  a  poor, 
miserable,  ignorant  man,  placed  in  the  meanest  so- 
ciety, or  forced,  it  may  be,  into  the  wilderness,  hav- 
ing as  much  communion  with  the  beasts  as  with 


282  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

man,  soon  constrained  to  emigrate  to  Africa  and 
dwell  in  huts  on  the  coast  of  Guinea.  What  shall 
prevent  him  from  getting  a  feeble  mind,  tame  spirit, 
dark  skin,  receding  forehead,  and  curly  hair?  May 
not  his  son  be  more  like  a  negro  than  himself,  and 
his  remote  descendants,  in  a  few  generations,  be 
pure  negroes  ?  Then  placed  in  circumstances  less 
and  less  favorable,  nourished  by  wolves,  for  example, 
may  they  not  grow  less  and  less  human,  until  they 
become  gorillas,  and  so  on,  through  innumerable 
generations  (for  we  are  allowed  as  many  as  we  need 
for  the  purpose),  become  fishes?" 

After  referring  to  appetences,  desires,  etc.,  which 
play  so  important  a  part  in  the  theory  of  evolution, 
and  showing  that  they  work  downward  as  well  as 
upward,  the  Doctor  applies  the  principle  to  man. 
**  Many  men,"  says  he,  "  are  whimsical.  Here  is  one 
who  has  a  fondness  for  foxes.  He  admires  their 
character,  studies  their  habits,  imitates  their  ways — 
so  much  so  that  his  friends  say  *he  is  foxy.'  His 
attitude,  his  walks,  his  looks,  his  practices,  all  resem- 
ble those  of  the  fox  ;  and  whenever  we  see  him  we 
are  reminded  of  this  scripture,  '  Go  tell  that  fox.*  It 
is  easy  to  see  that  his  son  may  be  more  of  a  fox 
than  his  father,  the  grandson  than  the  son ;  and  so, 
after  centuries,  or  millenniums  if  you  please,  a  real 
fox  may  be  produced. 

"  Another  man  has  many  of  the  propensities, 
tastes,  wants,  and  movements  of  the  monkey :  he 
has  monkey  attitudes  and  monkey  pranks.    His  son 


ORIGIN    OF    MAN.  283 

may  be  still  more  of  a  monkey,  and  so  on,  in  a  far- 
distant  future,  he  comes  out  in  a  remote  descend- 
ant a  genuine  monkey,  caudal  appendage  and  all. 
Another  man  is  '  a  snake  in  the  grass.'  He  crawls 
rather  than  walks,  stings  rather  than  talks ;  the 
poison  of  asps  is  under  his  tongue ;  he  delights  in 
concealment ;  he  never  does  anything  directly  that 
he  can  do  indirectly.  He  has  no  sense  of  gratitude, 
but  will  bite  the  bosom  that  warms  and  protects 
him.  Suppose  that  his  feelings  strengthen  in  his 
posterity  from  generation  to  generation,  until  they 
become  a  generation  of  vipers — a  nest  of  copper- 
heads!" 

It  may  be  said  as  an  objection  to  the  theory  of 
degeneration  that  we  see  no  example  of  the  changing 
of  one  species  of  animal  into  an  inferior  species ; 
but  the  same  objection  holds  to  the  theory  of  devel- 
opment, for,  according  to  this,  it  would  seem  that 
the  universe  is  a  great  university,  in  which  the  fishes 
are  freshmen,  the  birds  sophomores,  the  monkeys 
juniors,  and  men  seniors;  but  on  commencement- 
day,  when  man  graduated,  some  calamity  fell  upon 
the  undergraduates  by  which  they  were  fixed  in  statu 
quo ;  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  during  this  long  sub- 
Adamite  age  the  "juniors"  have  never  been  known 
to  graduate  into  manhood — a  monkey  has  remained 
a  monkey  since  ever  he  was  known,  and  a  monkey 
he  is  most  likely  to  remain  until  his  final  demise. 

In  the  light  of  common-sense  and  all  the  known 
facts  of  natural  history,  it  appears  more  reasonable 


284  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

to  suppose  that  the  gorilla  is  a  degenerated  man 
than  to  allow  that  the  man  is  a  developed  gorilla. 
Until  we  can  believe  that  the  creature  is  superior  to 
the  Creator,  the  effect  greater  than  the  cause,  and 
that  the  stream  can  rise  higher  than  the  fountain, 
,we  shall  hardly  be  able  to  believe,  in  the  light  of 
"  sense  and  reason,"  that  the  soul's  ethics  and  religion 
have  been  developed  from  an  animal  which  has  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  those  God-given  faculties. 

While  we  are  pleased  to  grant  that  Darwin  was 
eminently  scientific,  and  has  left  to  the  world  a  leg- 
acy for  the  unfolding  of  natural  history  which  is  of 
priceless  worth  ;  and  while  we  conceive,  furthermore, 
that  nine  tenths  of  all  he  has  said  touching  "  descent 
with  modification,"  "  evolution,"  "variability,"  "nat- 
ural selection,"  "  sexual  selection,"  etc.,  are  true ;  yet 
when,  without  facts,  he  jumps  to  the  conclusion  of 
the  "  transmutation  of  species"  and,  regardless  of 
his  conceded  "  missing  link,"  leaps  to  the  inference 
that  the  monkey  is  father  to  man,  then,  to  us,  he 
reaches  a  conclusion  that  is  devoid  of  all  coherence 
of  thought,  all  sound  logic.  And  but  for  the  reason 
that  this  false  conclusion  is  mixed  up  with  such  an 
array  of  truth,  and  the  further  fact  that  we  live  in 
an  age  when  men's  ears  are  wide  open  to  the  clamor- 
ings  and  vociferations  of  men,  and  their  feet  swift 
to  follow  in  the  steps  of  metaphysical  speculation, 
the  new  theory  of  "  The  Descent  of  Man"  would 
have  fallen  still-born  upon  the  popular  mind. 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  at  this  stage 


ORIGIN   OF   MAN.  285 

of  the  argument  may  be  summed  up  thus:  First, 
the  evolution  hypothesis  of  the  origin  of  man  is  not 
sustained  by  one  solitary  fact  in  natural  history. 
There  is  not  a  single  case  on  record  in  which  an 
animal  belonging  to  a  clearly-marked  species  has 
been  developed  into  one  of  another  species.  Nor 
has  it  even  been  claimed  by  those  who  are  most  en- 
thusiastic for  the  new  theory  that,  at  a  given  time 
diwd  place,  a  monkey,  or  any  other  animal,  was  trans- 
muted into  a  man.  Geology,  philosophy,  "  sense 
and  reason,"  are  as  mute  as  the  grave  touching  the 
occurrence  of  a  fact  so  marvelously  strange  in  natu- 
ral history. 

Even  if  it  were  shown  that  species  are  not  fixed, 
but  that  mutability  is  the  law  which  has  obtained 
among  all  the  lower  order  of  animated  nature,  from 
the  molecule  to  the  monkey,  yet  it  would  prove 
nothing  as  to  the  origin  of  man.  So  that  in  seeking 
to  maintain  special  creation  for  the  human  race  we 
need  only  claim  fixedness  for  the  species  of  man. 
And  in  claiming  this  much  we  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered as  occupying  disputed  ground,  at  least  until 
the  missing  link  is  found,  or  until  man  has  been 
known  to  degenerate  into  a  lower  or  to  develop 
into  a  higher  order  of  animal.  Whatever  may  be 
the  necessities  of  the  new  theory,  certainly  reason 
demands  a  stay  of  judgment  before  we  pronounce 
against  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  origin  of  man.  If 
an  absurdity  "  is  the  contradiction  of  all  known 
facts,"  then  to  conclude  that  man  has  been  evolved 


286  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

from  the  baboon  is  a  most  preposterous  conclusion 
— one  devoid  of  all  sound  reason,  and  exhibiting  a 
credulity  which  eclipses  the  Scandinavian's  faith  in 
his  mythology. 

Furthermore,  if  we  grant  all  that  the  theory  of 
evolution  claims,  even  then  it  most  signally^  fails  to 
account  for  the  origin  of  man.  Even  if,  for  the 
sake  of  completing  the  system,  the  missing  link  be 
supplied,  and  it  could  thus  be  clearly  shown  that 
man's />^j/^/^^/ organism  has  been  evolved  from  that 
original  germ  or  molecule  through  the  lower  animals, 
yet  the  theory  is  as  mute  as  the  grave  touching  the 
origin  of  man.  It  might  point  us  with  unerring  cer- 
tainty to  the  original  material  germ  from  which, 
after  a  long  and  tedious  process,  the  human  taber- 
nacle was  finally  brought  forth  in  all  its  symmetrical 
beauty,  and  yet  it  reports  nothing  and  suggests 
nothing  as  to  the  origin  of  the  occupant  of  that  tab- 
ernacle. No  one  who  has  given  any  serious  atten- 
tion to  mental  science  thinks  of  this  body  or  any 
part  of  it  as  being  himself,or  even  a  part  of  himself, 
only  as  a  tenement  or  an  instrumentality  ;  while  the 
/,  the  me  that  thinks  and  doubts,  loves  and  hates,  is 
the  tenant  and  only  active  agent. 

So  after  Evolution  has  accounted  for  man's  physi- 
cal organism,  and  we  inquire  whence  this  intellectual- 
ity, morality,  and  religiosity  which  constitute  MAN, 
the  new  theory,  which  has  crazed  the  heads  of  many 
modern  scientists,  is  speechless.  When  we  think 
of  the  untiring  zeal  with  which  evolutionists  have 


ORIGIN  OF  MAN.  287 

worked  with  the  view  of  tracing  the  h'neage  and 
origin  of  man,  and  then  look  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  whole  matter,  we  are  reminded  of  the  fable  of 
the  mountain  in  labor.  After  all  the  labor-pains  of 
Evolution,  it  owXy  pretends  to  trace  the  origin  of  a 
man's  body,  but  proves  nothing  and  intimates  noth- 
ing as  to  the  origin  of  man  himself. 

Secondly,  the  origin  of  man  as  given  by  Moses  is 
in  keeping  with  all  the  known  facts  of  natural  his- 
tory. He  represents  man  as  having  been  made  in 
the  image  of  God,  with  all  the  natural  attributes  of 
mind  which  have  ever  distinguished  him  from  all  the 
lower  order  of  animated  nature.  He  introduces  him 
as  the  highest  type  of  all  the  creation  of  God,  and 
as  having  dominion  over  all  the  rest  of  the  animal 
kingdom.  Geology,  history,  and  common  observa- 
tion tell  the  same  sublime  story  of  man's  native 
superiority. 

As  a  monkey  has  been  a  monkey  ever  since  he  was 
anything,  so  man  has  been  a  man,  with  intellectual- 
ity, morality,  and  religion,  in  all  ages  and  in  all  coun- 
tries, ever  since  the  earth  was  fitted  for  his  coming, 
and  he  was  created  "  male  and  female,"  and  pro- 
nounced very  good. 

In  the  light  of  all  the  known  facts,  *'  Reason  and 
Revelation"  go  hand  in  hand  ''in  proclaiming  the 
truth  of  man's  distinctive  creation." 

That  the  theory  of  evolution  is  false  in  mental 
philosophy,  as  it  is  groundless  in  fact,  will  be  further 
illustrated  in  the  next  chapter. 


288  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

man's  distinctive  CHARACTER. 

Man  the  highest  animal. — (i)  The  human  mind  progressive.— (2) 
Other  animals  stationary  in  intelligence. — (3)  The  difference  one 
of  kind,  not  degree  only.— Man's  native  endowments:  (I).  In- 
tellectuality; (II).  Morality;  (III).   Religiosity. 

However  much  we  may  differ  as  to  the  natural 
steps  which  have  been  taken  in  our  argument,  all 
are  agreed  that  man,  with  his  sensitive  soul,  now 
occupies  the  highest  altitude  of  animal  life  on  the 
globe.  The  theory  of  evolution  as  considered  in  the 
last  chapter  goes  upon  the  following  suppositions, 
all  of  which  are  fundamental,  viz.:  First,  that  in 
the  dateless  past  an  embryonic  germ  held  within  its 
molecule  folds  all  varieties  of  fishes,  reptiles,  insects, 
birds,  animals,  and  men  that  now  inhabit  the  earth. 

Secondly,  that  the  principle  of  evolution,  under 
the  modification  of  ''appetencies,"  "natural  selec- 
tions," "sexual  selections,"  etc.,  will  account  for  all 
the  lower  and  higher  forms  of  animal  life,  either  ex- 
isting or  extinct. 

Thirdly,  while,  on  the  long  scale  which  reaches 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  each  degree  and  each 
thousandth  part  of  a  degree  is  occupied  by  some 
form  of  animal  life,  man's  chief  glory  is  found  in  the 


man's  distinctive  character.  289 

fact  that  his  position  is  in  the  highest  degree  on  the 
scale — that  in  this  long  chain,  in  which,  however, 
there  is  a  "  missing  link,"  his  supreme  honor  is  to  be 
seen  in  that  he  forms  the  last  link  in  this  almost 
endless  continuance. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  however,  that  the 
hypothesis  involves  the  conclusion  that  it  is  but  a 
question  of  time  when  man's  present  attainments 
will  be  superseded,  and  the  fame  to  which  he  has  at- 
tained be  eclipsed  by  the  superior  glory  of  his  suc- 
cessors. 

Fourthly,  that  the  law  of  development  and 
growth,  with  modifications  and  helps,  is  in  full  force 
with  all  forms  of  animal  life  from  the  meanest  to  the 
best. 

The  Darwinian  theory  of  the  "  Descent  of  Man  " 
has  been  said  to  represent  the  whole  animal  king- 
dom as  but  a  perfectly  graded  university,  in  which 
each  class  of  animals  stands  directly  in  the  line  of 
promotion. 

Fifthly,  that  the  mind  of  man,  therefore,  is  the 
same  in  kind  with  that  of  all  other  animals,  and  is 
superior  only  in  degree. 

From  the  five  foregoing  suppositions,  all  involved 
in  the  theory  under  consideration,  it  must  logical- 
ly follow,  sixthly,  that  the  position  of  intellectual 
thought,  moral  attainment,  and  religious  develop- 
ment now  occupied  by  man  will,  in  the  far-off  future 
(for  we  are  allowed  an  eternity,  if  necessary),  be  too 
insignificant,  comparatively, to  claim  the  attention  of 
19 


290  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

what  is  now  a  mollusk.  Moreover,  the  theory  of 
evolution  anticipates  the  time  when  man  shall  have 
played  his  part  in  the  drama  of  life,  and  shall  render 
his  tribute  to  the  law  of  mutability. 

And  still  more,  the  logic  of  this  philosophy,  de- 
spite the  paralysis  which  keeps  the  sub-senior  classes 
in  statu  quo,  forces  reflection  on,  and  still  on,  until 
that  original  embryonic  germ  has  all  been  unfolded, 
and  all  classes,  including  the  lobster,  alligator,  lizard, 
and  rattlesnake,  have  passed  on  to  a  zenith  of  glory 
which  baffles  thought  and  description. 

In  the  light  of  common-sense  we  wonder  that  a 
man  so  great  in  natural  history  as  Darwin  was 
should  have  been  led  to  a  conclusion  so  marvel- 
ously  absurd.  But  we  are  to  remember  that  this  is 
but  one  illustration  among  the  many  going  to  show 
that  the  mistake  of  a  great  man  is  only  equaled  by 
his  greatness.  The  greater  wonderment,  however, 
is  that  semi  -  popular  sentiment  should  have  so 
rudely  jumped  to  a  conclusion  that  is  so  out  of 
keeping  with  all  known  facts.  With  the  view  of 
counteracting  this  wide-spread  thought  we  ask  at- 
tention to  the  following  facts  of  observation  : 

(1)  That  the  human  mind  was  made  for  progress 
is  a  fact  that  none  will  doubt.  Nor  can  we,  in  the 
light  of  all  known  facts,  set  limits  to  its  capacity  of 
going  out  after  and  discovering  new  truth,  and  re- 
ceiving a  corresponding  development  and  improve- 
ment. 

"While  the  human  infant  is  among  the  most  help- 


MAN  S   DISTINCTIVE   CHARACTER.  29 1 

less  and  apparently  the  most  insignificant  of  all  new- 
born creatures,  yet  there  are  divine  possibilities 
wrapped  up  in  that  infant  mind  which  know  no 
limits  of  attainment  nor,  as  we  may  well  infer,  of 
duration.  This  thought  will  be  further  illustrated 
in  the  sequel  of  this  chapter. 

(2)  While  the  whole  history  of  man  goes  to  show 
that  his  mind  is  capable  of  indefinite  enlargement 
and  improvement,  all  other  animals,  without  excep- 
tion, were  nearly  if  not  quite  as  perfect  at  the  begin- 
ning of  their  existence  as  they  are  at  the  present. 
This  is  especially  true  of  them  when  left  to  them- 
selves and  in  their  native  state.  We  may  reason- 
ably suppose  that  in  the  divine  economy  many  of 
these  animals  were  designed  for  the  use  of  man. 
Hence  they  have  been  endowed  with  powers,  not 
indeed  to  be  dignified  with  the  term  "  reason,"  but 
powers  by  which  they  can  be  trained  to  useful  pur- 
poses. But  in  the  absence  of  such  training,  and  left 
wholly  to  the  guidance  of  their  nature,  they  advance 
to  no  new  contrivance  —  make  no  new  discovery. 
The  bees  that  constructed  their  cells  and  waxed 
their  honey-comb  in  the  carcass  of  the  lion  in  the 
days  of  Samson  displayed  the  same  mechanical 
genius  in  their  marvelously  perfect  work  that  is  ex- 
hibited to-day.  Had  they  been  observant  and  capa- 
ble of  improving  on  such  observation,  they  might, 
when  wax  and  propolis  are  scarce,  have  used  mud  in 
cementing  their  combs  to  the  top  of  their  hives,  in 
imitation  of  the  swallow.     But  since  the  days  of 


292  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Aristotle  and  Pliny  they  have  not  learned  one  new 
trick.  The  beaver  constructs  his  dam  now  as  he 
has  done  ever  since  he  was  a  beaver.  And  to  show 
that  his  skill  in  contrivance  is  outside  of  himself, 
and  that  he  is  constitutionally  incapable  of  reason- 
ing from  cause  to  effect,  he  may  be  placed  in  a 
room  with  a  wooden  floor  and  he  will  construct  his 
dam  with  the  same  methodical  exactness  as  if  he 
were  on  the  stream  where  his  work  could  be  made 
available. 

Illustrations  might  be  multiplied  almost  without 
number  going  to  show  that  all  animals,  man  ex- 
cepted, have  been  endowed  with  a  power  fitting 
them  perfectly  for  the  sphere  in  which  they  were 
designed  to  play  their  respective  parts  in  the  econ- 
omy of  the  universe,  and  with  that  completed  power 
they  have  remained  in  statu  quo  since  their  crea- 
tion. 

(3)  If  we  make  a  distinction  where  there  is  an  ab- 
solute difference,  as  evinced  in  the  two  foreeoincT 
propositions,  then  we  must  see  that  the  distinction 
between  the  human  and  the  brute  mind  is  a  differ- 
ence, not  in  degree,  but  of  positive  kind.  While 
reason  sits  enthroned  in  the  human  soul,  instinct  is 
the  controlling  power  of  all  else  of  animate  nature. 
While  instinct  is  perfect  within  its  sphere  of  opera- 
tion, and  has  neither  the  necessity  nor  the  oppor- 
tunity of  improvement,  reason  is  imperfect  in  its 
field  of  boundless  agency,  and  can  only  be  fitted  for 
its  destiny  of  infinite  scope  by  seizing  the  means 


MAirS  DISTINCTIVE   CHARACTER.  293 

within  its  grasp.  Man  is  largely  what  he  makes 
himself.     The  animal  is  what  the  Creator  made  it. 

Having  fixed  the  bounds  of  its  habitation,  God 
says  to  instinct,  **  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go, and  no  far- 
ther;" but  to  imperfect  reason,  with  its  involved 
possibilities  of  indefinite  scope,  he  says,  "  Come  up 
higher,  and  I  will  show  thee  things  which  must  be 
hereafter."  As  instinct  is  circumscribed  in  its  sphere 
of  operations,  and  as  reason's  agency  is  without 
metes  or  bounds,  it  must  be  apparent  that  if  the 
human  mind  is  not  superior  to  that  of  the  animal 
in  ki?id,  it  has  no  superiority,  but  is  absolutely  in- 
ferior. 

"If  it"  [animal  intelligence],  says  Bowen  in  his 
Lowell  lectures,  "differs  from  human  intelligence, 
not  in  kind,  but  in  degree  only,  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
superior.  Man  may  go  to  school  to  the  dog,  the 
swallow,  and  the  bee,  but  he  can  never  equal  his 
teacher.  Let  him  attempt,  for  instance,  without 
the  aid  of  any  tools  or  machinery,  and  with  the 
utmost  economy  of  space  and  material,  to  construct 
a  symmetrical  hexagonal  cell,  closed  at  one  end  by 
a  trihedral  pyramid  each  side  of  which  is  a  rhom- 
bus, with  its  obtuse  angles  measuring  precisely  109 
degrees  and  28  minutes,  and  its  acute  angles  70  de- 
grees 32  minutes.  Without  instruments  or  pattern 
he  could  not  cut  out  such  a  rhombus  with  perfect 
accuracy  after  a  thousand  trials.  But  the  bee  does 
this  before  it  is  a  day  old.  And  in  this  statement 
of  the  task  the  greatest  difficulty  of  all  is  left  out  of 


294  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

it :  we  have  solved  the  most  abstruse  problem  in  it 
in  order  to  make  the  performance  more  easy.  In 
order  to  make  the  cell  with  as  Httle  wax  and  space 
as  possible,  it  is  necessary  that  the  angles  of  the 
rhombus  should  have  precisely  these  dimensions, 
and  no  other.  It  was  only  after  the  invention  of 
the  integral  calculus  that  man  was  able  to  determine 
the  angles  required  for  this  purpose,  or,  in  other 
words,  to  discover  how  far  the  wisdom  of  the  bee 
transcended  his  own.  In  Virgil's  time  the  bee  was 
wiser  than  the  greatest  human  mathematician  of  its 
day." 

Though  human  reason  is  the  microcosm  of  all 
thought,  yet  when  it  enters  the  sphere  of  the  tiny 
bee  it  is  met  with  a  skill  in  contrivance  which  is 
absolutely  supernal.  "  Take  the  animal  out  of  its 
sphere,"  says  Bowen,  ''and  its  mental  endowments 
cease  to  be  even  comparable  with  those  of  man. 
The  bee,  which  in  certain  tasks  seems  wiser  than  a 
Euclid  or  an  Arkwright,  is,  when  compelled  to  labor 
for  any  other  purpose  than  that  for  which  nature 
has  specially  adapted  it,  more  stupid  than  an  idiot." 

As  an  objection  to  the  fixedness  of  instinct,  it  is 
urged  that  it  often  enters  the  field  of  reason,  not 
only  in  the  manifest  use  of  means  to  ends,  but  in 
seeming  to  recognize  the  relation  between  cause  and 
effect.  As  illustrative  of  this  objection,  we  have  a 
reported  case  of  a  gang  of  monkeys  in  their  native 
forest,  in  which  one  of  their  number  was  caught  by 
a  snake  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice.     His  agonizing 


man's  distinctive  character.  295 

cries  brought  to  the  rescue  a  goodly  number,  who 
congregated  on  the  summit  and  designed  the  plan  of 
letting  a  stone  fall  on  their  common  enemy.  Hav- 
ing seemingly  considered  the  size  of  the  stone,  the 
distance  of  descent,  and  the  perpendicularity  of  the 
fall,  they  heaved  together  and  sent  the  stone  directly 
upon  the  head  of  the  snake  ;  and  on  the  discovery  of 
the  fact  that  they  had  saved  the  life  of  their  com- 
rade and  destroyed  that  of  their  common  foe,  they 
sent  up  a  shout  which  made  the  woods  ring  with 
their  screams  of  joy. 

Another  illustration  of  what  is  claimed  to  be  reason 
in  animals  is  given  of  herds  of  elephants,  which, 
having  consumed  the  pasturage  of  the  country  of 
their  nativity,  would  unite  their  forces  and  pull 
down  small  trees,  gather  up  logs,  and  construct  a 
bridge  across  a  wide  lagoon  or  swamp,  when  the 
entire  community  would  pass  over  it  to  a  land  of 
new  and  rich  pasturage.  That  these  cases,  together 
with  all  others  that  may  be  gathered  from  the  his- 
tory of  animals,  come  within  the  sphere  of  unpro- 
gressive  instinct,  and  are  in  no  wise  to  be  compared 
with  progressive  reason  in  man,  may  be  clearly  seen 
from  the  following  considerations  : 

First,  it  may  be  said  that  this  seeming  manifesta- 
tion of  human  reason  only  illustrates  the  limits  of 
instinct,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  if  these 
animals  have  been  known  to  do  these  manifestly 
wise  things  once,  the  same  skill  of  contrivance  has 
marked  their  entire  history.     So  far  as  their  biogra- 


296  REASON  AND  REVELATION. 

phy  has  been  revealed,  they  have  never  been  known 
to  discover  any  new  trick  or  to  invent  any  new 
method.  If  those  monkeys  did  what  they  are  said 
to  have  done,  then,  in  the  absence  of  the  facts  go- 
ing to  show  that  they  have  changed  their  modes  of 
operation,  we  are  led  to  conclude  that  they  may 
have  done  such  things  ever  since  a  community  of 
monkeys  was  created,  and  may  continue  to  do  them, 
but  none  wiser,  till  the  last  monkey  dies. 

If  elephants  have  constructed  bridges,  as  reported, 
then,  until  contradictory  facts  are  forthcoming,  we 
must  believe  that  they  have  had  the  instinctive 
capacity  to  do  such  things  ever  since  they  were 
elephants.  Before  we  can  rationally  conclude  that 
their  methods  of  thought  are  even  remotely  akin  to 
human  reason,  we  must  be  presented  with  the  facts 
going  to  show  that,  seeing  the  relation  between 
cause  and  effect,  they  have  discovered  new  tricks  of 
self-defense,  and  have  adopted  new  and  wiser 
methods  of  self-preservation. 

Secondly,  that  the  animal  is  totally  blind  as  to  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect  may  be  clearly  seen  in 
the  fact  of  the  beaver  constructing  his  dam  on  the 
wooden  floor  of  a  family -room  with  the  same 
methodical  exactness  as  if  he  were  on  the  bank  of 
a  river.  If  he  had  possessed  a  tithe  of  human 
reason  he  would  have  seen  at  a  glance  that  under 
the  circumstances  the  cause  could  not  effect  the  end 
proposed.  That  animal  instinct  manifests  a  skill  in 
contrivance  and  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  relation  of 


man's  distinctive  character.  297 

cause  and  effect  is  a  fact  in  natural  history  too 
obvious  to  be  denied.  And  the  further  fact  that 
the  animal  is  totally  blind  as  to  the  connection 
between  the  means  to  be  used  and  the  end  to  be 
accomplished,  as  in  the  case  of  the  bee,  goes  to 
show  that  such  infinite  knowledge  was  in  the  mind 
of  the  Creator;  and  while  he  has  given  the  animal 
the  benefit  of  such  knowledge,  he  has  withheld  the 
power  of  reason  by  which  it  might  see  the  relation 
between  cause  and  effect,  and  has  thus  fixed  limits 
to  instinct. 

Thirdly,  this  seeming  reason  in  the  animal,  while 
it  is  stereotyped  and  utterly  blind  as  to  the  relation 
between  the  work  it  performs  and  the  end  to  be 
accomplished,  is  an  instinctive  knowledge  that  is  a 
necessity  to  its  continued  being.  If  there  were  no 
wise  and  benignant  feet  to  lead  it  through  the  dark- 
•  ness  to  self-defense  and  self-preservation — if  there 
were  no  hands  of  wisdom  and  benevolence  to  supply 
its  wants,  then  would  it,  and  all  its  kind,  soon  be- 
come extinct.  Though  a  necessity  to  the  existence 
of  the  animal,  it  is  obvious  that  this  faculty  is  com- 
pletely circumscribed  both  in  what  it  does  and  in 
its  method  of  doing  it.  Hence  there  is  no  kinship 
between  it  and  the  human  reason,  whose  capac- 
ity to  improve  is  as  boundless  as  the  universe  of 
God. 

With  reference  to  this  faculty  in  domestic  animals, 
such  as  the  dog,  horse,  etc.,  it  is  sufficient  to  observe, 
first,  that  these  animals  were  evidently  designed  as 


298  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

companions  and  helps  for  man.     Of  this  there  can 
be  no  question. 

Secondly,  preparatory  to  answering  the  design  of 
their  creation,  in  addition  to  instinct,  which  is  per- 
fect and  therefore  cannot  be  improved,  they  have 
been  endowed  with  just  such  powers  as  will  fit  them 
to  fill  their  domestic  spheres  of  usefulness.     They 
have  been  endowed  with  the  power  of  imitation  or 
mimicry,  and  can  associate  rewards  and  punishments 
with  certain  acts,  etc.     In  the  absence  of  such  en- 
dowments  they  would   utterly  fail   to   answer   the 
design  of   their  creation.     But  while   the  dog  can 
imitate  the  action  of  his  master,  he  certainly  has  no 
conscious  perception  of  the  relation  between  that 
act  and  the  end  to  be  attained.     As  suggested  by 
Bowen,  the  parrot  may  learn  to  mimic  human  speech, 
but  it  can  never  learn  to  talk.     The  monkey, seeing 
the  movements  of  the  painter,  will  ''seize  the  brush 
and   cover   the  walls  with    unmeaning   scrawls:    it 
imitates  the  physical  act  of  the  painter,  but  without 
any  glimpse  of  its  intention    and  real    character." 
The  animal  may  refrain  from  doing  certain  things 
because  of  remembered  punishment,  and  joyfully  do 
other  things  in  the  expectation  of  reward ;  but  cer- 
tainly we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  has  the 
slightest  conscious  perception  of  the  intrinsic  right 
or  wrong  of  either  one  or  the  other  of  these  acts. 
Outside  of  his  instinct,  the  animal  does  simply  what 
his  master  teaches  him  to  do,  and  there  stops.     Had 
the  Creator  withheld  this  native  possibility  of  being 


MAN  S   DISTINCTIVE   CHARACTER.  299 

taught,  man  would  have  been  deprived  of  the  inesti- 
mable blessing  of  domesticated  animals. 

Thirdly,  this  seeming  reason  in  animals  is  not 
only  bounded  by  the  master's  instruction,  but  it  is 
circumscribed  in  its  native  possibilities.  So  far  from 
grasping  the  heights  and  depths  of  science,  it  cannot 
even  enter  this  field  where  human  reason  displays 
its  distinctive  character.  It  has  neither  the  appe- 
tency nor  the  capacity  for  even  commencing  the 
endless  task  for  which  the  mind  of  man  was  made, 
viz.,  to  grasp  the  thought  of  the  unity  of  the  uni- 
verse and  the  consequent  unity  of  its  Creator. 
That  human  reason  was  thus  designed  is  as  clearly 
to  be  seen  as  that  the  fish  was  made  to  swim  or  the 
bird  to  fly. 

To  suppose,  then,  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts  of 
observation,  that  the  mind  of  the  animal  is  the  same 
in  kind  with  that  of  man  is  an  absurdity  more 
absurd,  if  possible,  than  to  suppose  that  man  can 
make  a  world.  Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  when 
man  enters  the  sphere  of  the  animal  he  is  still  in 
the  field  of  his  own  operations,  and  remembering, 
furthermore,  that  in  the  competition  with  instinct 
he  finds  himself  unequal  to  the  task,  it  follows  that, 
unless  his  mind  is  superior  in  kind  to  that  of  the 
animal,  he  is  found  absolutely  its  inferior — lower, 
that  is,  than  what  has  been  termed  "  the  lower  order 
of  animate  nature."  To  illustrate  further  man's 
distinctive  character,  and  to  show  that  God  has,  in 
the  nature  of  his  creation,  fixed  an  impassable  gulf 


300  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

between  the   mind   of   man   and   that   of   all  other 
animals,  is  the  object  of  the  following  sections. 

SECTION  (l). 
Mans  Native  Intellectuality, 

A  very  eminent  divine,  in  a  popular  lecture  on 
"  The  Ministry  of  Wealth,"  with  a  view  of  illustrating 
the  kinship  between  the  human  and  the  brute  mind, 
has  instituted  a  comparison  between  the  baby  and 
the  pig.  In  olden  time,  and  in  the  most  degraded 
society,  when  the  pigs  and  the  babies  were  housed 
together,  this  renowned  clergyman  supposes  that 
the  "  base-line  of  the  pig  and  that  of  the  baby  were 
very  near  together" — granting,  however,  that  the 
pig  evidently  had  the  advantage. 

Imagination,  playing  upon  the  supposed  situation 
of  the  united  pigsty  and  the  baby's  parlor,  will  readily 
suppose  that  the  pig's  mind  was  in  the  ascendency. 
But  a  little  careful  thought  will  clearly  discover  the 
fact  that  the  supposition  is  as  superficial  as  it  is 
unphilosophical.  If  from  flights  of  oratory  we  come 
down  to  carefully  analyze  the  minds  of  the  pig  and 
of  the  baby,  we  will  find  that  while  the  former  has 
only  the  possibilities  of  a  completely  developed  hog, 
the  latter  has  within  its  Godlike  nature  an  embryonic 
germ  of  potentiality  which  is  as  boundless  as  the 
universe.  With  the  pig  there  is  only  perfect  instinct 
which  leads  it  to  self-defense  and  self-preservation. 
Having  met  these  necessities  of  its  being,  its  highest 


man's  distinctive  character.  301 

ambition  is  gratified,  and  it  can  lie  down  in  perfect 
contentment.  We  can  easily  measure  the  "bounds 
of  its  habitation,"  and  see  that  the  sphere  of  its  pig- 
ship  is  of  very  '*  Hmited  quantity."  But  in  the  baby 
we  find  native  intellectuahty,  the  obvious  design  of 
which  was  to  unravel  the  mystic  thread  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  pry  into  the  ways  of  the  Almighty  by 
tracking  the  steps  of  his  infinite  energy.  In  the 
absence  of  the  rhetoric  of  imagination,  we  aver  in 
the  light  of  mental  philosophy  that  the  base-lines 
of  pig  and  baby  are  as  mutually  distant  as  those 
of  a  perfected  Berkshire  hog  and  a  Newton.  Nor 
was  the  disparagement  any  less  "  in  olden  time  and 
in  the  most  degraded  society."  While  the  pig  has 
only  the  insignificant  capacity  of  a  pig  the  wide 
world  over,  the  baby  has  innate  intellectuality,  with 
its  appetencies  and  capacities,  whether  born  in  olden 
times  or  modern  times,  whether  housed  with  the 
pigs  or  surrounded  with  all  the  glory  of  the  queen's 
court. 

A  human  baby  is  a  human  baby  in  all  ages  and 
countries  of  the  world,  having  the  same  natural 
capacities,  differing  only  in  degree.  The  child  of  a 
Hottentot  as  of  a  Humboldt  has  a  native  intellectual- 
ity, which  is  bounded  only  by  the  boundless  uni- 
verse, and  will  end  with  the  end  of  eternity. 

The  development  of  this  native  germ  of  intellect 
depends  upon  the  use  of  means  and  the  time  cm- 
ployed.  The  child  of  more  favored  birth  and  happier 
surroundings  may  have  greatly  the  start,  but  we  can 


302  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

readily  believe  that  an  eternity  of  existence  and  an 
infinity  of  means  may  correct  the  seeming  accidents 
of  birth  and  the  misfortune  of  education. 

That  the  intellectual  faculty  in  man  will  require 
an  eternity  for  the  unfolding  of  its  native  potenti- 
ality is  clearly  indicated  by  the  following  considera- 
tions: 

First,  the  chief  design  of  the  creation  of  human 
intellect  was  that  it  might  solve  the  various  problems 
of  a  mysterious  Providence. 

Our  only  reason  for  saying  that  God  has  designed 
the  bird  to  fly  is  that  we  observe  that  it  has  been 
endowed  with  a  desire  and  a  capacity  to  fly.  That 
God's  purpose  in  the  creation  of  the  fish  was  that 
it  should  dwell  in  the  water  is  clearly  evinced  in 
the  fact  that  this  is  its  native  element  and  it  will 
perish  anywhere  else.  So,  for  equally  good  reasons, 
we  conclude  that  the  chief  end  of  human  intellect 
was  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  the  Infinite  in  natural 
creation  and  moral  law,  as  is  clearly  seen  in  the  fact 
that  this  is  its  normal  sphere  of  action,  and  the  only 
path  which  leads  to  its  zenith  of  glory. 

That  this  is  the  inexorable  law  of  its  nature  is  ob- 
viously evinced  in  the  certainty  that  its  enlargement 
and  improvement  are  in  the  ratio  of  its  obedience 
to  this  law.  The  difference  in  the  success  of  the 
efforts  at  following  the  footsteps  of  a  mysterious 
Providence  marks  the  difference  between  the  intel- 
lect of  a  negro  in  the  jungles  of  Africa  and  that  of 
an  American  or  European  scholar. 


man's  distinctive  character.  303 

As  the  universe  is  created  and  controlled  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  immutable  method,  the  human 
intellect  is  able  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  a  Divine 
Providence.  Nor  have  we  any  reason  to  believe 
that  in  the  endless  journey  it  will  ever  be  called  to  a 
halt  because  it  has  reached  the  limit  of  its  capacity. 
All  that  we  know  of  the  intellect  in  its  efforts  to 
track  the  Infinite  is  that  while  the  pathway  grows 
brighter  and  brighter  the  intellect  has  a  correspond- 
ingly increasing  appetency  and  capacity  to  go  for- 
ward and  upward.  The  finding  of  these  footsteps 
of  the  Creator,  so  far  from  exhausting,  only  in- 
creases the  capacity  of  the  creature  to  press  forward 
to  new  and  higher  achievements.  Observation  and 
experience  have  abundantly  proved  that  the  aug- 
mented competency  of  the  intellect  to  discover  and 
assimilate  new  truth  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  truth 
already  received.  From  this  we  may  affirm  without 
hesitation  that  the  endowment  of  the  human  intel- 
lect is  such  that  there  is  no  limit  to  its  capacity  for 
finding  out  new  truths. 

Secondly,  while  the  intellect  is  obviously  designed 
in  its  creation  to  discover  God's  hidden  methods  of 
operating  the  universe,  it  is  equally  plain  that  this 
mysterious  but  uniform  system  of  operation  is  de- 
signed for  the  unfolding  of  the  intellect.  And 
while  the  one  is  a  wrapped-up  power  of  "  unlimited 
quantity,"  the  other  is  as  endless  as  the  ceaseless 
energies  of  the  Infinite.  God's  uniform  method  of 
operating  the  universe  has  no   special   significance 


304  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

except  as  it  relates  to  the  training  of  such  of  his 
created  intelh'gences  as  are  able  to  trace  the  Divine 
footsteps.  "  No  intelligent  theist  can  imagine," 
says  Dr.  Palfrey,  ''  that  there  is  anything  permanent 
or  coercive  in  an  order  of  nature  independent  of  the 
will  of  Him  who  established  it.  Why  did  God  at 
first  establish  this  order?  Why  does  he  maintain 
it  ?  No  significant  answer  can  be  given  to  this 
question,  except  that  he  established  and  maintains 
it  from  a  benevolent  regard  to  the  good  of  his 
creatures.  No  one  can  doubt  that  it  would  be  just 
as  easy  for  God  to  make  the  sun  rise  upon  our 
earth,  as  we  call  it,  rarely,  frequently,  generally,  as 
to  make  it  rise  as  he  does  every  morning.  But 
then  what  would  become  of  the  endless  calculations, 
movements,  benefits,  dependent  on  the  regularity  of 
that  periodical  phenomenon  ?  He  established  this 
order  to  the  end  that  men  might  expect,  might  ar- 
range, might  promise,  might  provide,  might  reason, 
might  educate  their  minds,  which,  without  exercising 
their  minds  on  something  observed  in  the  past  and 
looked  for  in  the  future,  there  would  be  no  such 
thing  as  doing." 

But  for  this  uniform  method  of  operating  the 
world,  man  would  be  utterly  at  a  loss  how  to  con- 
duct himself  in  the  presence  of  the  divine  adminis- 
tration. The  immutable  law  is  that  fire  shall  burn 
to-day,  to-morrow,  and  forever,  for  the  purpose,  as 
it  would  seem,  that  man  may  know  how  to  conduct 
himself  in  its  presence,  have  **  sense  enough  to  keep 


MAN  S   DISTINCTIVE   CHARACTER.  305 

out  of  the  fire."  But  for  this  immutable  mode  of 
controUing  the  universe  there  would  be  no  such 
thing  as  science,  nor  would  intellect  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  display  its  distinctive  glory  in  tracing  the 
steps  of  its  Creator.  As  uniformity  of  method  of 
controlling  the  universe  is  without  meaning  except 
as  it  relates  to  the  training  of  God's  intelligences,  so 
the  germ  of  intellect  is  a  most  insignificant  thing, 
but  for  the  means  adequate  to  development.  As 
each  is  prophetic  of  the  other,  we  can  only  see  the 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  by  regarding 
intellect  and  science  as  the  counterpart  of  each 
other,  and  observing,  as  we  may,  that  the  unfolding 
of  the  one  is  in  ratio  of  the  discovery  of  the  other. 

That  such  has  been  the  paternal  care  and  fore- 
thought, and  such  God's  benevolent  regard  to  the 
good  of  the  chief  of  his  creatures,  may  be  further 
seen  in  the  fact  that  the  earth  was  evidently  made 
for  man's  occupancy.  What  mean  these  almost  in- 
exhaustible beds  of  coal  that  were  so  carefully  pre- 
pared, and  so  secretly  hid  away  until  the  coming  of 
man?  That  all  this  divine  painstaking  is  but  an  ex- 
hibition of  God's  paternal  regard  for  the  creature 
made  in  his  image  is  obvious  in  the  fact  that  man  is 
the  only  animal  that  has  come  to  their  possession 
and  use.  And  in  the  absence  of  such  occupancy  and 
use,  these  immense  coal-fields  have  no  meaning. 
Why  this  surface-soil — these  banks  of  sand,  gravel, 
and  stone?  why  the  mines  of  lead,  iron,  tin,  zinc, 

brass,  copper,  silver,  and  gold?    While  the  atheist  is 
20 


306  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

dumb  in  the  answer  of  these  questions,  the  intelli- 
gent theist  can  readily  reply,  All  these  things  speak, 
in  language  which  cannot  be  misunderstood,  of 
God's  benevolent  regard  for  his  children  in  thus 
preparing  and  fitting  up  a  home  for  their  coming. 

What  mean  all  these  domestic  animals,  which  are 
the  companions  and  helps  of  man?  these  secret 
powers  of  nature,  such  as  electricity  and  steam,  which 
are  instrumentalities  of  great  usefulness  only  in  the 
hand  of  man?  These  blessed  Providences  to  the 
stoic's  deaf  ear  and  hard  heart  have  no  speech  nor 
language;  but  to  the  intelligent  Christian  philosopher 
they  proclaim,  with  unmistakable  voice,  God's  pa- 
ternal regard  to  the  good  of  his  children. 

With  the  endowment  of  intellect  and  these 
fatherly  preparations,  man  comes  upon  the  stage 
of  being  to  play  a  part  which  is  divinely  significant. 
He  may  have  "  seed-time  and  harvest,"  and  build 
him  up  an  earthly  home  with  all  the  conveniences 
and  happy  surroundings  which  make  it  a  type  of  the 
heavenly.  By  community  of  effort  he  utilizes  the 
provisions  of  a  wise  and  beneficent  Providence ;  he 
opens  up  the  hidden  treasures  of  earth,  from  which 
he  founds  cities,  constructs  railroads,  and  builds  the 
ocean  steamer;  with  the  endowment  of  intellect 
and  material  resources  he  establishes  schools,  founds 
colleges,  erects  churches,  and  thus  he  carries  forward 
the  civilization  of  the  race. 

We  may  reverently  ask.  What  did  God  mean  in 
these  wise  and  benevolent  provisions  of  this  world? 


man's  distinctive  character.  307 

Reason  has  but  one  answer  to  give  to  this  question, 
and  that  is,  He  meant  man.  Had  man  never 
come  upon  the  stage  to  play  his  part  in  the  divine 
economy,  then  these  provisions  of  our  earth  would 
be  as  meaningless  as  the  Latin  mummery  of  an 
ignorant  priest  to  the  people  who  do  not  understand 
a  word  he  says. 

As  this  world,  together  with  its  material  resources, 
has  been  provided  with  a  view  to  the  occupancy  of 
man,  we  may  also  believe  that  its  uniform  method 
of  government  has  been  established  for  the  purpose 
of  training  and  unfolding  the  germ  of  human  intel- 
lectuality. As  the  intellect  is  a  power  of  "  unlimited 
quantity,"  and  as  these  divine  modes  of  operation 
represent  an  infinite  and  ceaseless  energy,  we  joy- 
ously conclude  that  man's  distinctive  character  is  for 
eternity  as  well  as  for  time. 


SECTION  (11). 

Man's  Native  Morality, 

Darwin's  theory  of  *'  the  descent  of  man"  be- 
gins, in  the  unlcnown  past,  with  "some  fish-like 
animal,"  which,  after  the  lapse  of  hidden  time,  was, 
through  the  influence  of  appetency  and  "  natural 
selection,"  developed  into  a  *' reptile-like  or  some 
amphibian-like  creature  ;"  this  in  like  manner,  at  the 
end  of  mysterious  ages,  was  unfolded  into  a  marsu- 
pial animal ;  this,  "  through  a  long  line  of  diversified 


308  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

forms,"  expanded  into  "  the  Quadrumana  and  all  the 
higher  mammals." 

Thus,  at  the  end  of  unknowable  ages,  having 
evolved  the  monkey  from  the  "  fish-like  animal,"  he 
says,  "  We  thus  learn  that  man  is  descended  from  a 
hairy  quadruped,  furnished  with  a  tail  and  pointed 
ears ;"  and  he  might  have  added,  but  with  little 
brains  and  no  intellectuality,  morality,  or  religiosity. 

Having  reached  this  marvelous  conclusion,  at  the 
suggestion  of  analogy,  without  a  solitary /<3:^/  going 
to  show  the  origin  even  of  the  physical  man  from 
the  animals  named,  he  then  frankly  makes  this  con- 
fession :  *'  The  greatest  difficulty  which  presents 
itself,  when  we  are  driven  to  the  above  conclusions 
on  the  origin  of  man,  is  the  high  standard  of  intel- 
lectual power  and  of  moral  disposition  which  he  has 
attained." 

Had  Darwin  gone  one  step  farther,  after  conceding 
man's  ''  intellectual  power  and  moral  disposition," 
to  concede  what  is  equally  philosophical  and  as  mar- 
velously  distinctive  of  man,  that  he  is  by  nature  a 
religions  being,  he  would  then  have  presented  the 
three  marked  characteristics  which  clearly  distinguish 
man  from  all  the  rest  of  animate  nature. 

But  his  fruitless  efforts  at  showing  how  man  came 
into  possession  of  these  distinctive  attributes  of  in- 
tellectuality and  morality  show  that,  conceding  these 
mental  qualities,  he  had  given  away  his  whole  theory 
of  "  the  descent  of  man."  As  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tion we  have  sought  to  show  that  this  "  intellectual 


man's  distinctive  character.  309 

power"  was  obviously  designed  to  trace  the  endless 
movements  of  the  Creator's  infinite  energy,  and  that 
the  facts  of  zoology  go  to  show  that  this  is  a  dis- 
tinctive power  belonging  exclusively  to  man,  so  we 
now  observe  that  this  "  moral  disposition"  is  a 
characteristic  power,  which  belongs  to  no  other  ani- 
mal on  the  globe  now,  nor  ever  did  at  any  other 
time  in  the  past  history  of  the  world. 

With  a  spontaneity  which  shows  it  to  be  instinc- 
tive, man  gives  moral  character  to  words  and  deeds, 
and  decides  that  while  certain  utterances  and  actions 
are  right,  others  are  wrong.  Nor  can  such  decisions 
be  repressed  or  treated  with  indifference.  The  very 
effort  to  disregard  these  involuntary  decisions  upon 
questions  of  right  and  wrong  but  stirs  the  soul  to 
its  depths  by  the  flourishing  of  a  sharp  scourge  with- 
in. Thus  it  would  seem  that  this  native  power  of 
decision  has  to  do  with  the  nature  and  well-being  of 
the  soul.     This  leads  to  the  following  observations : 

First,  the  human  soul  is  made  subject  to  moral 
law,  which  it  may  or  may  not  obey.  This  observation 
cannot  be  made  with  reference  to  the  stars.  Suns 
and  planets  are  subjects  of  a  physical  law  which  they 
have  no  power  to  violate.  Having  no  moral  sense 
and  without  the  right  of  choice,  they  remain  within 
their  orbits  and  fly  along  their  trackless  way  under 
the  guiding  hand  of  a  changeless  and  infinite  Energy. 
Hence  these  heavenly  orbs,  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, proclaim  a  universal  harmony. 

Nor  can  this  observation  be  made  of  any  other 


310  REASON  AND  REVELATION. 

being  on  the  globe.  The  animals  have  no  more 
knowledge  of  moral  right  and  wrong  than  has  the 
sun  ;  nor  can  they  any  more  give  moral  character  to 
spirit,  language,  and  life  than  can  the  earth  upon 
which  they  live.  Having  neither  power  of  decision 
nor  the  right  of  choice,  they  are  urged  along  in  their 
limited  sphere  of  action  by  the  law  of  instinct,  which 
is  as  immutable  as  the  Hand  that  established  it. 
And  here  again  we  observe  no  discord,  but  all  are 
filling  the  limited  sphere  in  which  they  were  designed 
to  act,  and  thus  answering  the  end  for  which  they 
were  created.  But  man,  having  been  made  subject 
to  moral  law,  with  the  power  either  of  obeying  or 
disobeying,  is  the  anomaly  of  all  creation,  the  only 
discord  of  the  universe.  Having  abused  his  ''  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil,"  and  violated  his  sense  of 
right,  the  charge  was  justly  preferred,  "The  ox 
knoweth  his  owner," — he  knoweth  all  that  he  is  ca- 
pable of  knowing, — ''  the  ass  his  master's  crib,  but 
Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not  consider.'* 
This  leads  us  to  observe,  secondly,  that  the  violation 
of  this  moral  law  is  sin. 

From  suggestions  made  in  the  foregoing  section 
it  must  be  obvious  that  this  world  was  made  for 
man,  with  a  benevolent  design  to  his  good.  From 
this  we  must  infer  that  it  was  for  wise  and  benevo- 
lent reasons  that  man  was  made  subject  to  moral 
law,  with  the  power  to  understand  and  the  right  to 
choose.  And  though  the  possibility  of  violating 
this  moral  law  has  entailed  untold  misery  upon  our 


man's  distinctive  character.  311 

race,  yet  as  the  soul  can  only  reach  its  heights  of 
blessedness  through  its  possible  obedience  to  this 
law,  we  have  abundant  reason  for  supposing  that 
this  was  the  best  possible  plan  that  infinite  wisdom 
and  boundless  love  could  devise,  whereby  man  could 
unfold  the  germ  of  noblest  manhood  and  be  counted 
worthy  of  the  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant." 

If  we  admit  that  the  world  has  been  planned  and 
constructed  with  a  benevolent  design  to  the  good  of 
man ;  and  also  that  the  soul  has  been  endowed  with 
the  power  to  sit  in  judgment  on  questions  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  granted  the  privilege  of  choice 
between  them,  then  we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  for  us  to  violate  our  sense  of  right  must  be 
superlatively  hateful  in  the  eyes  of  the  all-loving 
Father.  But  that  such  violation  is  a  sin  of  exceed- 
ing sinfulness  is  further  revealed  in  the  legitimate 
results  which  follow. 

This  leads  to  the  observation,  thirdly,  that  "sin 
wrongs  the  soul."  The  soul  can  no  more  violate  its 
sense  of  right  with  impunity  than  can  the  body  dis- 
obey the  laws  of  health  and  hope  to  escape  the  evil 
consequences  of  such  violation.  The  philosophy  of 
experience  has  taught  us  that  the  thinking,  speak- 
ing, and  doing  of  certain  things  impart  to  the  soul 
a  new  vigor  and  a  more  joyous  hope,  while  the 
thinking,  speaking,  and  doing  of  certain  other  things 
weaken  its  energy  and  fill  it  with  unutterable 
wretchedness.     And  just  here  is  where  we  may  see 


312  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  distinction  between  righteousness  and  wicked- 
ness. 

We  are  not  to  infer,  however,  that  our  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  is  always  in  keeping  with  the  moral 
law  under  which  the  soul's  highest  good  can  be 
attained.  Some  things  are  right  and  others  are 
wrong  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  whatever  may  be 
our  thoughts  in  regard  to  them.  The  ten  command- 
ments, for  example,  are  but  the  counterpart  of  the 
soul's  nature  and  needs,  whether  we  think  so  or  not. 
We  are  forced  to  this  conclusion  in  the  fact  that  the 
soul  reaches  its  highest  good  only  by  strictly  obey- 
ing them.  Licentiousness  and  covetousness  are  to 
the  soul  what  poison  is  to  the  body,  our  thinking  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Whatever  may  be 
our  sense  of  right,  if  we  practice  lying  and  stealing, 
the  soul's  weakened  energies  and  crushed  hopes  will 
declare  in  unmistakable  words  that  we  are  living  a 
life  of  sin,  not  only  in  inflicting  a  wrong  upon  the 
soul,  but  in  depriving  it  of  its  divine  right  to  truth 
and  honesty. 

"  Is  it  then,"  it  may  be  asked,  "  the  duty  of  the 
soul  always  to  obey  its  own  sense  of  right  ?"  In  an- 
swering this  question  it  may  be  observed  that  while 
the  soul's  first  and  highest  duty  is  to  be  true  and 
faithful  in  its  allegiance  to  its  own  divine  govern- 
ment, yet  its  decisions  on  questions  of  right  and 
wrong  may,  and  often  do,  first,  exhibit  a  most 
lamentable  degree  of  mental  ignorance  of  those 
laws  which   are   the   soul's  counterpart,  and  thus. 


MANS   DISTINCTIVE   CHARACTER.  313 

secondly,  impose  the  necessity  of  a  more  thorough 
study  of  those  laws  which  are  suggested  by  obser- 
vation and  experience,  and  obviously  made  known 
in  the  Bible.  The  heathen,  in  his  moral  life  and 
religious  consecration,  may  be  as  conscientiously 
devoted  to  the  careful  observance  of  his  sense  of 
right  as  is  the  most  intelligent  Christian.  What  he 
needs  is,  not  a  change  of  honest  purpose  to  do 
right,  but  rather  an  enlightened  judgment  as  to 
what  is  right,  intrinsically  right,  in  the  nature  of  the 
soul.  The  world  sitting  in  moral  darkness  needed 
Him  who  is  the  "  light  of  the  world,"  not  so  much 
to  intensify  the  people's  devotion,  or  even  make  it 
more  sincere,  as  to  enlighten  their  judgment  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  soul  and  the  laws  of  its  life. 
What  Paul  needed  while  persecuting  the  Christians 
v^as,  not  less  consecration  to  what  he  conceived  to 
be  right,  but  more  knowledge  of  those  moral  and 
spiritual  laws  under  which,  after  his  conversion,  he 
was  developed  into  the  grandest  man  the  world 
ever  saw.  Reserving  the  further  discussion  of  this 
thought  for  the  next  section,  we  observe  that  the 
nature  of  the  soul  thus  seen  in  its  relation  to  moral 
law  clearly  shows  that  the  distinction  between  the 
human  and  the  brute  mind  is  one  of  absolute  kind, 
and  not  of  degree  only. 


314  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

SECTION  (ill). 
Mans  Native  Religiosity. 

As  the  subject  of  religion,  in  its  generic  significa- 
tion, is  fully  presented  in  the  first  part  of  this  work, 
we  need  only  observe  in  this  connection  that  if  ob- 
servation and  experience  are  to  settle  the  questions 
of  mental  philosophy,  then  have  we  the  most  in- 
vincible testimony  of  the  fact  that  religion  is  a  part 
of  the  soul's  nature.  If  a  man's  native  appetency 
and  efficiency  in  seeking  after  science  have  demon- 
strated his  intellectuality,  then,  likewise,  his  native 
tendency  to  seek  after  God  as  an  object  of  worship, 
and  his  success  in  it  under  enlightenment,  are  proof 
positive  of  his  religiosity.  As  certainly  and  as  uni- 
versally as  men  have  inquired  after  the  facts  of  na- 
ture, so  certainly  and  universally  have  they  sought 
after  God. 

This  is  a  fact  which  cannot  be  affirmed  of  any 
other  animal  on  the  globe.  No  other  animal  of 
ancient  or  modern  times  has  evinced  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  its  Creator,  or  discovered  to  us  the 
remotest  tendency  to  seek  after  God.  Even  in 
olden  times  and  in  countries  of  semi -barbarism, 
man  was  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  animate 
nature  by  the  significant  title  of  "•  a  worshiping  ani- 
mal." 

If,  as  we  have  sought  to  show  in  the  previous 


man's  distinctive  character.  315 

section,  the  intellectual  world  and  the  scientific 
world  were  designed  one  for  the  other ;  and  if  this 
world,  with  its  rich  mines  and  all  its  material  re- 
sources, was  fitted  up  for  the  occupancy  of  man  ; 
and  if,  further,  all  these  domestic  animals  were  de- 
signed as  companions  and  helps  for  man — if  all  this 
may  be  seen, — and  who  so  blind  that  he  cannot  see 
it  ? — then  may  we  further  behold,  with  immeasurable 
delight,  the  infinite  significance  of  this  native  reli- 
gious attribute  which  seeks  to  bind  the  free-will 
offering  of  intelligence  to  God  that  he  might  have 
the  glory  of  all  created  things.  But  for  man's  na- 
tive attribute  of  religion  there  had  been  no  intelli- 
gent link  connecting  God  with  the  work  of  his 
hand ;  and  hence  this  world,  with  all  its  manifest 
wisdom,  power,  and  benevolence,  could  have  given 
no  expression  of  "glory  and  honour  to  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne." 

If  the  world  has  been  constructed  and  controlled 
with  a  benevolent  design  to  the  good  of  man, 
how  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  being  so  favored 
should  be  endowed  with  a  power  of  mind  by  which 
he  might  render  a  tribute  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving to  the  Being  who  has  thus  honored  and  ex- 
alted him  above  the  works  of  his  hand  !  Conceiving 
thus  the  exaltedness  of  our  position,  standing  as  we 
do  between  God  and  all  the  marvelous  works  of  his 
hands,  endowed  as  we  are  with  the  spirit  of  worship, 
we  cannot  refrain  from  joining  in  the  chorus  of  the 
saints  above,  *'  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive 


3l6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

glory  and  honour  and  power,  for  thou  hast  created 
all  things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were 
created." 

We  have  thus  briefly  pointed  out  the  three  prin- 
cipal characteristics  which  distinguish  man  from  all 
else  of  animate  nature.  In  the  light  of  mental 
philosophy  and  of  the  science  of  zoology,  we  may 
affirm  that  INTELLECTUALITY,  MORALITY,  and  RELI- 
GION are  attributes  peculiar  to  man  in  all  ages  and 
countries  of  the  world.  And  with  the  manifest 
painstaking  of  the  Creator  which  is  everywhere  to 
be  seen,  in  creating  and  controlling  this  world  with 
a  benevolent  design  to  the  good  of  man,  we  are  in- 
spired with  the  joyous  hope,  even  from  reasons  of 
nature,  that  his  destiny  is  eternity,  and  that  the  in- 
telligent worshipers  of  all  worlds  will  be  his  com- 
panions. 

Referring  to  instinct  of  animals  as  distinct  from 
intellectual,  moral,  and  reHgious  reason  in  man, 
Bowen  concludes:  **  No  moral  character  is  attribu- 
table to  a  faculty  which  is  unconsciously  exerted, 
and  no  moral  aim  can  exist  where  progress  or 
change  is  impossible.  When  deprived  of  this  ex- 
traneous power,  or  viewed  apart  from  it,  the  brute 
appears  in  its  true  light,  as  the  creature  of  a  day, 
born  not  for  purposes  connected  with  its  own  being, 
but  as  an  humble  instrument,  or  a  fragmentary  part, 
in  the  great  circle  of  animated  nature,  which,  as  a 
whole,  is  subservient  to  higher  ends." 

And  those  "  higher  ends"  are  that  man,  for  whom 


THE   SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      317 

this  world  was  made,  should  bring  himself  into  bliss- 
ful harmony  with  the  administration  of  God's  laws 
of  love,  and  thus  enjoy  the  divine  approval  through 
all  the  cycles  of  a  joyous  eternity. 

It  must  be  clear  that  the  distinctive  character 
of  man,  as  seen  in  the  light  of  mental  philosophy, 
shows  that  he  has  no  kinship  with  the  lov/er  order 
of  animals ;  and  to  suppose  that  physical  evolution 
will  account  for  these  distinctive  attributes  is  an 
assumption  devoid  of  all  reason.  That  the  distin- 
guishing characteristics  of  man  make  him  differ  from 
other  animals  in  kind,  and  not  merely  in  degree,  will 
be  further  illustrated  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONV^EALTH. 

Analogy  between  human  civil  government  and  the  organic  self- 
rule  of  the  soul. — The  several  governmental  departments:  (I) 
The  Legislative,  (II)  The  Judiciary,  (III)  The  Witness-bearing, 
(IV)  The  Executive. — Benevolence  and  righteousness  of  the 
Creator. 

The  object  of  this  chapter  is  threefold.  First,  to 
designate  the  powers  of  the  soul  and  the  divine 
purpose  in  their  appointment.  Secondly,  to  repre- 
sent the  soul  as  a  government  divinely  organized, 
with  a  view  of  punishing  sin  and  rewarding  right- 
eousness.    Thirdly,  to  illustrate  the  benevolent  pur- 


3l8  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

pose  and  righteous  character  of  God  and  the  obvious 
duty  of  man. 

The  analogy  between  the  highest  form  of  human 
government  and  that  divinely  organized  in  the  soul 
is  well-nigh  perfect.  Nor  is  the  purpose  dissimilar. 
Human  governments  are  instituted  with  a  view  to  the 
public  good.  To  the  end  that  man  may  be  protected 
in  his  natural  rights  of  life,  liberty,  and  property, 
laws  are  enacted  with  penalties  attached.  So  like- 
wise the  soul  has  been  organized  into  a  government 
for  its  own  good.  That  it  may  be  protected  in  its 
birthright  to  righteousness  and  saved  from  the 
deadly  influences  of  sin,  it  has  power  not  only  to 
enact  laws  with  penalties  attached,  but  to  enforce 
them. 

Moreover,  to  the  end  that  justice  may  be  ad- 
ministered, the  state  government  is  organized  with 
the  several  departments  of  legislative,  judiciary,  and 
executive.  That  justice  may  be  justly  administered, 
however,  it  is  necessary  that  there  be  included  also 
the  department  of  testimony,  which,  on  account  of 
its  importance,  we  prefer  to  treat  separately.  Politi- 
cal science  presents  to  us  these  three  functions  of 
administration,  namely,  legislative,  judiciary, —  in- 
cluding the  evidence  on  which  judicial  proceedings 
are  based, — and  executive. 

By  tracing  the  analogy  that  exists  between  the 
divine  government  as  instituted  in  the  human  soul 
and  the  republicanism  of  the  state,  it  would  seem 
that  the  latter  was   suggested  by  the  former,  and 


THE   SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      3I9 

that  the  defects  of  the  state  government  may  be 
corrected  by  the  careful  study  of  mental  philosophy. 
This  thought  will  be  illustrated  in  the  following 
sections. 

SECTION  (l). 
The  Legislative  Department  of  the  Soul, 

Human  reason  in  its  relation  to  the  soul  is  quite 
analogous  to  that  of  the  legislature  of  the  state.  It 
is  the  province  of  the  state  legislature  to  protect  the 
peace  and  safety  of  community,  by  enacting  such 
laws  and  attaching  such  penalties  as  will  restrain  the 
vicious  purpose  of  those  who  might  otherwise  inter- 
fere with  the  public  good.  So  likewise  it  is  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  human  reason  not  only  to  deter- 
mine questions  of  right  and  wrong  and  their  magni- 
tude, but  to  enact  laws  fixing  rewards  to  virtue  and 
punishment  to  crime  according  to  their  merit  or 
demerit. 

But  while  it  is  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  de- 
cide upon  questions  of  right  and  wrong  and  to  enact 
laws  accordingly,  its  conclusions  are  not  unfre- 
quently  adverse  to  what  is  intrinsically  good  and 
evil,  and  hence  it  fails  to  answer  the  aim  and  design 
of  its  appointment.  This  unhappy  end  is  often 
reached  through  the  mental  obtuseness  of  those 
who  are  appointed  to  the  service — through  the 
political  influences  with  which  they  are  surrounded, 
and   sometimes,   though    not    frequently,    through 


320  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

vicious  purposes.  But  with  all  this  ignorance, 
wicked  environments,  and  depraved  intention,  the 
popular  will  has  decided  that  the  public  good  will  be 
best  served  by  granting  the  legislature  the  function 
of  enacting  laws  and  fixing  the  moral  statute  of  the 
state.  The  pubHc's  only  hope  of  redress  is,  not  to 
ignore  the  law-making  power,  but  to  elect  to  the 
legislature  men  of  more  brains  and  better  heart. 

As  to  the  legislature  has  been  assigned  the  duty 
of  deciding  questions  of  public  weal  and  woe  and  to 
enact  laws  for  the  good  of  community,  so  human 
reason  has  been  appointed  by  the  Creator  to  the  ex- 
alted service  of  determining  what  is  right  and  wrong, 
and  to  enact  such  laws  and  attach  such  penalties  as 
will  serve  the  twofold  purpose  of  nerving  the  soul 
to  deeds  of  good,  and  to  protect  it  from  evil  pur- 
poses from  within  or  without.  Human  reason,  like 
the  legislature,  may,  and  often  does,  decide  adversely 
as  to  what  is  intrinsically  right  and  wrong,  and 
hence  largely  fails  to  answer  the  design  of  its  ap- 
pointment. This  failure  may  be  the  result  of  igno- 
rance, consequent  upon  the  accidents  of  birth  and 
education,  or  it  may  be  from  vicious  intention.  But 
though  the  decisions  of  reason  may  have  been 
grossly  perverted  because  of  ignorance  or  the  influ- 
ence of  wicked  environments,  yet  the  soul's  first 
duty  is  faithful  allegiance  to  those  decisions  on 
questions  of  right  and  wrong.  Its  only  hope  of 
salvation  is,  not  in  violating  its  legislative  decisions, 
but  in  having  reason  so  educated  that  it  may  clearly 


THE  SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      32 1 

understand  what  is  intrinsically  right  and  wrong  in 
the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  so  enact  such  laws  as 
will  enable  man  to  develop  into  that  noble  manhood 
for  which  he  was  designed. 

This  forcibly  illustrates  man's  need  of  the  Christ, 
who  is  the  **  light  of  the  world."  The  spirit  he 
manifested,  the  words  he  uttered,  and  the  life  he 
lived,  as  we  shall  have  an  occasion  to  show,  were 
but  an  answer  to  the  soul's  nature  and  necessities. 
The  divinity  of  his  teaching  enlightens  the  under- 
standing, and  thus,  under  the  sanctifying  influence 
of  his  spirit,  the  heart  is  cleansed  from  every  vicious 
purpose. 

SECTION   (11). 

The  Judiciary  Department  of  the  SouL 

The  similarity  between  the  human  judgment  and 
the  judiciary  of  the  state  may  be  clearly  seen.  As 
mental  analysis  discovers  to  us  a  power  of  mind 
which  we  call  reason,  and  which  exercises  itself  on 
the  various  methods  of  human  action,  and  deter- 
mines that  some  are  right  and  others  are  wrong, — 
a  power  analogous  to  the  law-making  power  of 
the  state, — so,  likewise  the  same  analysis  has  re- 
vealed a  power  of  soul  which  we  call  judgment,  and 
which  has  been  divinely  appointed  to  exercise  it- 
self in  determining  how  far  the  decisions  of  reason 
have  been  violated,  thus  bearing  a  marked  resem 
blance  to  the  judiciary  of  the  state.  It  is  not  the 
21 


322  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

province  of  the  judge  upon  the  bench  to  enact  law, 
nor  to  attach  penalties  to  violations  of  it.  His  sole 
duty  is  to  determine  whether  or  not  legislative  en- 
actments have  been  violated.  Nor  is  he  expected 
or  even  allowed  to  decide  against  the  alleged  crimi- 
nal in  the  absence  of  testimony :  thus  showing  that 
the  department  of  justice  necessitates  that  of  testi- 
mony. 

So  also  it  is  not  the  province  of  human  judgment 
to  mark  out  the  line  of  man's  duty,  nor  yet  to  fix 
the  statute  of  rewards  and  punishments.  Its  office 
is  well  and  faithfully  discharged  if,  when  the  soul  is 
summoned  to  its  court,  it  has  decided  justly  as  to 
man's  innocence  or  guilt  according  to  the  law  en- 
acted and  the  evidence  produced. 

That  God  has  established  a  divine  court  within 
the  soul  before  which  each  individual  man  must 
stand  and  hear  the  sentence  of  guilt  or  acquittal  is 
a  fact  that  cannot  be  gainsaid. 

Nor  can  we  hope  to  bribe  this  inner  court  of  the 
soul  or  escape  its  decisions.  Under  the  laws  of  the 
state  we  may  be  arrested  for  crime  and  thrust  into 
prison :  but  it  is  possible  for  us  to  break  the  jail  and 
thus  escape  the  just  condemnation  of  the  judge; 
or,  through  the  influence  of  money,  prejudice,  or 
vicious  purpose,  the  court  may  be  bribed  to  pro- 
nounce us  innocent.  But  the  court  established  in 
the  soul's  divine  commonwealth  is  omnipresent.  ''  If 
we  ascend  into  heaven,  it  is  there ;  or  if  we  make 
our  bed  in  hell,  it  is  there."     Nor  can  it  be  pre- 


THE   SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      323 

judlced  to  show  favor,  or  bought  to  do  injustice. 
The  simple  fact  of  experience  is  that  the  soul  makes 
its  own  record  of  its  right  and  wrong  doings,  and 
meets  this  record  at  its  own  bar  of  justice  to  stand 
or  fall  by  it.  "  They  that  have  not  the  law  are  a 
law  unto  themselves,  which  show  the  works  of  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also 
bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile 
accusing  or  else  excusing." 

In  the  light  of  both  reason  and  revelation  we 
may  confidently  expect,  when  life's  labors  are  ended, 
to  stand  in  the  presence  of  this  divinely  appointed 
inner  court  to  meet  the  record  of  our  earthly  life, 
when  we  shall  fall  under  self-condemnation,  or  rise 
to  hear  the  "  Well  done."  As  a  matter  of  mental 
philosophy  as  well  as  of  Bible  revelation,  man  has 
only  the  choice  of  one  of  two  things :  either  first  to 
seek  and  obtain  pardon  which  will  be  recognized  at 
the  bar  of  human  judgment  as  a  good  and  valid 
reason  for  acquittal,  or  else  fall  under  the  weight  of 
his  own  guilt  in  the  presence  of  his  own  judge. 
Psycho  -  theological  manipulating  may  encourage 
the  incorrigible  sinner  to  believe  that  at  the  end  of 
a  profane  and  sacrilegious  life  he  shall  hear  the 
false  approval,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant;" but  from  the  divinely  appointed  inner  court 
of  his  own  soul  will  inevitably  come  up  the  awful 
denunciation,  "Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances, 
and  art  found  wanting." 


324  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

SECTION  (ill). 
The  Witness-Bearing  Department  of  the  Soul, 

Memory  is  to  the  soul's  divine  commonwealth 
what  the  witness  is  to  the  court  of  human  govern- 
ment. As  in  the  earthly  court  the  witness  is  not 
charged  with  the  duty  of  making  law,  nor  of  decid- 
ing as  to  its  violation,  so  memory  has  nothing 
directly  to  do  in  directing  the  course  of  man's  duty, 
nor  in  deciding  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
rewards  and  punishments  which  justice  demands. 
Like  the  witness  in  court,  the  memory  has  faithfully 
discharged  its  mission  when  it  has  reported  to  the 
court  "  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth." 

And  here  again  we  observe  the  great  advantage 
of  the  heavenly  over  the  earthly  appointed  courts. 
In  the  courts  of  the  state  the  testimony  may  be, 
and  often  is,  largely  influenced  by  the  ignorance, 
prejudice,  or  bribery  of  the  witness.  But  none  of 
these  imperfections  attach  to  the  memory  in  its  tes- 
timony before  the  soul's  divine  tribunal.  IMcmory 
is  not  Ignorant  of  the  soul's  life,  but  faithfully  records 
each  passing  event.  The  words  we  utter,  be  they 
good  or  bad,  the  life  we  live,  whether  noble  or  ig- 
noble, the  spirit  and  motive  of  action,  whether  loving 
or  vicious,  will  all  be  minutely  reported  at  the  bar 
of  the  inner  court  of  the  soul.  If  mental  science 
has  established  any  one  fact  beyond  cavil,  it  is  that 


THE  SOUL  A   DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      325 

human  memory  never  forgets  any  fact  after  it  is 
once  fully  attained. 

Memory  has  no  selfish  purpose  to  serve,  nor  can 
it  be  persuaded  or  frightened,  or  hired  to  forget 
some  things  which  took  place,  or  to  remember  others 
which  never  occurred.  It  is  divinely  charged  with 
the  simple  duty  of  reporting  to  its  divine  tribunal 
not  only  the  outer  life,  but  the  inner  life  as  well. 

Our  enemies  may  tell  us  of  sins  we  never  com- 
mitted, and  our  friends  may  report  virtues  and 
charities  which  we  never  performed  ;  but  the  absolute 
justice  of  God  is  clearly  discovered  in  the  fact  that 
he  has  appointed  human  memory  to  the  office  of 
recording  and  reporting  to  the  individual  soul  an 
exact  duplicate  of  its  outward  and  inward  life.  From 
this  we  may  learn  the  practical  lesson  that  nothing, 
absolutely  nothing,  but  truth  and  righteousness  can 
stand  approved  in  the  presence  of  Him  who  is  "  of 
too  pure  eyes  to  behold  iniquity." 

SECTION  (iv). 

The  Executive  Department  of  the  Soul. 

Conscience  is  to  the  soul's  government  what  the 
executive  officer  is  to  the  state.  It  is  proper  to 
observe,  however,  that  we  are  not  caviling  as  to 
names,  but  rather  seeking  out  the  several  depart- 
ments of  the  soul's  power,  and  giving  to  each  the 
name  that  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  office  it  fills. 
That  the  soul  is  endowed  with  a  power  to  execute 


326  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

its  own  laws  in  the  punishment  of  sin  and  the  reward 
of  virtue  is  a  fact  of  universal  experience  which 
none  can  deny. 

The  soul  having  grossly  violated  its  own  sense  of 
rio-ht  is  at  once  filled  with  the  consuming  fire  of 
remorse  and  of  apprehensions  and  forebodings  of 
worse  to  come.  This  goading,  or  punishing  power  of 
the  mind,  we  are  pleased  to  name  Conscience,  or  the 
executive  officer  of  the  soul's  divine  commonwealth. 

Conscie7ice,  under  this  definition,  is  not  charged 
with  the  duty  of  determining  questions  of  right  and 
wrong,  as  according  to  some  authors  it  is.  That 
work,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is  more  properly  assigned  to 
human  reason.  Nor  are  we  at  liberty  to  use  these 
words  interchangeably.  Some  authors  speak  of  the 
conscience  as  if  it  were  appointed  to  the  duty  of 
legislating  for  the  soul,  and  perhaps  in  the  same 
sentence  refer  to  it  as  if  it  were  the  punishing  power. 
As  che  soul,  like  the  body,  has  many  members  but 
one  soul,  and  as  these  members  have  not  the  same 
office,  it  is  well  to  discriminate  where  there  is  an 
obvious  difference,  and  thus  avoid  the  confounding 
of  terms.  We  shall  therefore  consider  conscience 
as  the  soul's  executive  officer  because  it  punishes 
the  mind  when  adjudged  guilty  of  violating  its  own 
law.  This  manifestation  of  soul  power  in  human 
experience  is  as  distinct  from  that  which  gives  moral 
character  to  words  and  deeds,  and  determines  the 
law  of  right  and  wrong  doing,  as  is  the  legislature  of 
the  state  distinct  from  the  hangman. 


THE   SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      327 

From  the  vagueness  with  wliich  terms  are  used, 
it  seems  important  that  we  emphasize  the  fact  that 
conscience  is  not  the  law-making  power  of  the  soul, 
not  tJie  judiciary,  nor  yet  the  witness ;  but  its  only 
duty  is,  when  the  soul  has  been  adjudged  "guilty," 
to  inflict  the  penalty  of  the  law,  to  flourish  the  sharp 
scourge  within,  and  that,  too,  for  the  good  of  the 
punished. 

The  sheriff  executes  the  decisions  of  the  court  by 
committing  the  condemned  to  the  jail  or  peniten- 
tiary, or  by  subjecting  him  to  the  gallows,  not  from 
enmity  to  the  prisoner,  but  for  the  public  good.  So 
likewise  conscience  has  been  God-appointed,  not 
out  of  ill-will  to  man,  but  with  the  benevolent  design 
of  savins:  the  soul  from  the  destruction  and  death 
of  sin.  Some  of  the  Greek  philosophers  supposed 
that  this  disturbing  power  of  the  soul  was  but  the 
voice  of  God  in  man  warning  him  away  from  the 
deadly  poison  of  transgression.  The  sharp  scourge 
of  this  executive  ofificer  is  to  the  soul  what  pain  is 
to  the  body.  As  racking  pain  comes  to  us  as  a 
friend  in  the  disp"uise  of  an  enemv  to  warn  us  of  the 
presence  of  bodily  harm,  so  conscience,  though  un- 
bidden and  undesired,  rushes  to  the  rescue  of  the 
soul  by  filling  it  with  remorse,  that  under  the  lash  it  . 
maybe  warned  from  sin  and  whipped  into  obedience. 
"  No  chastening  for  the  present  seems  to  be  joyous, 
but  grievous:  nevertheless,  afterward  it  yields  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  to  them  who  are 
exercised  thereby." 


328  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

God  made  the  way  of  the  transgressor  hard,  with 
the  benevolent  purpose  that  he  walk  not  there- 
in, for  it  is  the  way  to  death.  As  pain  of  body  is 
graded  according  to  the  extent  of  injury  being  done 
to  the  physical  organism,  so  conscience  torments 
the  soul  in  the  ratio  of  its  violation.  It  will  never 
punish  the  soul  for  a  crime  of  which  it  is  not  guilty, 
nor  inflict  suffering  which  is  out  of  proportion  with 
the  wrong  committed.  Its  office  is  simple  justice 
and  unbounded  benevolence. 

God  has  marked  out  a  straight  and  narrow  path 
in  which  enlightened  reason  tells  us  to  walk ;  and  if 
we  step  to  the  right  or  left,  conscience  is  there  to 
gently  scourge  us  back  into  the  pathway  of  obedi- 
ence. But  if  we  persist  in  violating  the  laws  of  this 
God-ordained  commonwealth,  then, rather  than  that 
sin  when  finished  should  bring  forth  death,  con- 
science goads  and  torments,  giving  the  soul  no  peace 
day  or  night,  with  the  kindly  view  of  bringing  it 
back  into  willing  and  blissful  obedience  to  its  sense 
of  right.  As  pain  is  the  life-guard  of  the  body,  with- 
out which  it  would  soon  be  destroyed,  so  conscience 
is  the  body-guard  of  the  soul,  in  the  absence  of 
which  man  made  in  the  image  of  God  would  be 
captivated  at  every  step,  and  led  on  from  one  degree 
of  sin  to  another,  until  hope  would  be  extinguished, 
and  a  dark  night  of  despair  would  enshroud  the 
soul,  and  chains  of  anguish  drag  its  ghostly  image 
down  to  the  gloom  of  an  endless  night,  to  be  reserved 
unto  the  "  blackness  of  darkness  forever." 


THE   SOUL  A  DIVINE   COMMONWEALTH.      329 

This  manner  of  representing  the  human  soul 
clearly  sets  forth,  first,  that  God  has  organized  the 
minds  of  his  creatures  into  a  perfect  government, 
with  a  benevolent  design  to  man's  good  ;  else  why 
so  much  painstaking  to  have  him  walk  in  the  way 
of  righteousness,  which  is  the  way  of  peace  and 
life?  Secondly,  it  clearly  illustrates,  not  only  the 
fatherly  but  the  righteous  character  of  God  ;  else 
why  establish  a  government  the  object  and  end  of 
which  is  to  develop  his  children  into  righteousness 
of  character?  Unless  we  can  believe  that  the 
stream  can  rise  higher  than  its  fountain,  or  that  the 
effect  is  greater  than  the  cause,  we  cannot  consent 
to  regard  the  creature  as  being  designed  to  excel 
the  Creator.  Thirdly,  from  this  view  of  the  soul  we 
learn  not  only  the  benevolent  purpose  and  righteous 
character  of  the  Father,  but,  more  and  better,  we 
are  clearly  taught  the  important  practical  lesson 
that  our  only  mission  on  God's  beautiful  earth  is  to 
strive,  by  every  available  providence,  to  bring  our- 
selves into  blissful  harmony  with  his  government 
of  love,  and  thus  be  counted  worthy  of  the  society 
of  the  intelligences  of  all  worlds  who  have  wrought 
well  the  task  which  Heaven  assigned.  As  it  is  our 
highest  privilege,  so  it  is  our  first  duty  to  strive  to 
bring  the  soul  into  harmony  with  the  law  of  pure 
thinking  and  of  holy  living.  If  vicious  men  or 
wicked  environments  seek  to  deter  us  from  the  path 
of  uprightness,  with  the  Athenian  philosopher  we 
may  reply,  "  Strike,  but  hear  me !" 


PART   V. 
DEMONOLOGY. 


PREFATORY. 


(i)  Universality  of  belief.— (2)  Practical  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject.—(3)  Difficult  to  comprehend.— (4)  Its  difficulty  must  not 
bar  investigation. 

A  BELIEF  in  the  existence  of  Satan  (a  Hebrew  word 
meaning  adversary,  or  a  Devil,  from  a  Greek  word 
meaning  false  accuser)  is  coeval  and  coextensive 
with  the  race  of  mankind.  The  few  in  the  differe.nt 
ages  and  countries  of  the  world  who  have  denied 
the  existence  of  such  a  being  are  only  sufficient 
in  number  to  illustrate  the  universality  of  such 
faith.  As  this  wide-spread  belief  has  much  to  do 
with  the  weal  or  woe  of  man,  an  explanation  of  this 
prevalence  is  demanded  by  every  thoughtful  and 
intelligent  mind. 

If  any  have  supposed  that  the  subject  of  demon- 
ology  is  of  no  practical  importance,  it  must  be  be- 
cause they  are  ignorant  of  the  influence  it  has  had 
in  shaping  the  destiny  of  our  race.  A  man's  faith 
touching  the  personality  and  attributes  of  the 
Devil  largely  determines  what  his  real  character  is 
and  will  be.     If  one  regards  Satan  as  being  respon- 


DEMONOLOGY.  33I 

sible  for  all  his  wicked  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds, 
then  of  necessity  he  will  seek  at  the  bar  of  justice  to 
excuse  himself,  as  did  Adam  when  he  said,  "  The 
woman  whom  thou  gavest  me,  she  gave  me  of  the 
tree,  and  I  did  eat;"  and  Eve  when  she  excused  her- 
self, saying,  *'The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did 
eat." 

That  such  faith  in  the  character  and  influence  of 
the  Devil  only  tends  to  stay  the  hand  of  conscience, 
which  seeks  to  scourge  us  back  into  the  path  of  duty 
and  personal  manhood,  is  abundantly  illustrated  in 
the  lives  of  those  whose  daily  repentance,  instead  of 
leading  to  reformation,  is  but  lip-service,  and  needs 
to  be  repented  of.  Behind  the  confession  lingers 
the  thought,  *'The  Devil  did  it." 

Again,  if  any  are  inclined  to  regard  the  subject  as 
being  too  easy  of  comprehension  to  require  expla- 
nation, they  need  to  be  informed  that  there  is  no 
theme  coming  within  the  purview  of  human  thought 
upon  which  there  have  been  and  now  are  such  a 
variety  and  discrepancy  of  opinion  as  upon  this 
vexed  question  of  demonology.  Human  imagina- 
tion has  pictured  a  world  of  devils.  Heathen  my- 
thology has  demonized  all  nature,  both  animate  and 
inanimate.  Conway  has  truthfully  said,  "Any  at- 
tempt to  catalogue  the  evil  specters  which  have 
haunted  mankind  were  like  trying  to  count  the 
shadows  cast  upon  the  earth  by  the  rising  sun." 
And  such  have  been  the  discrepancies  of  thought  in 
the  different  ages  and  countries  of  heathendom,  that 


332  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  deities  of  one  people  have  been  regarded  as  the 
demons  of  another. 

Nor  has  the  light  of  Christian  civilization  dispelled 
the  gloom  of  mental  entanglement.  In  a  conversa- 
tion between  a  Calvinist  and  Theodore  Parker,  in 
which  the  former  sought  to  convert  the  latter,  Par- 
ker is  reported  to  have  replied,  "  The  difference  be- 
tween us  is  simple:  your  God  is  my  Devil." 

Even  among  the  so-called  "  evangelical  Christians," 
the  difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject  is  well- 
nigh  irreconcilable.  While  some  regard  the  Devil  as 
nothing  but  a  ghost  of  human  imagination,  whose 
spectral  image  has  frightened  the  race  into  intoler- 
able forebodings  and  apprehensions,  others  look  upon 
him  as  a  personal  monster,  huge  and  horrid,  who,  in 
defiance  of  God,  has  depopulated  heaven,  crushed 
the  hopes  of  humanity,  and  even  threatens  to  usurp 
the  throne  of  the  universe.  Nor  can  the  variety  of 
Christian  thought  on  this  subject  be  catalogued  by 
these  two  extremes.  Many  thoughtful  people  look 
upon  the  Devil  as  nothing  less  than  a  power  in  the 
moral  universe  under  the  control  and  dominion  of 
the  infinite  Father,  serving  simply  as  an  instrumen- 
tality in  carrying  out  his  wise  and  benevolent  pur- 
pose in  the  creation  and  government  of  man. 

Once  more,  if  any  with  agnostic  tendencies  are  in- 
clined to  regard  the  subject  of  demonology  as  fall- 
ing beyond  the  line  of  human  comprehension,  they 
need  only  be  reminded  of  the  fact  that  if  inability 
to  compass  this  entire  fi^ld  of  thought  bars  investi- 


WHO    IS   THE  DEVIL?  333 

gation,  then  all  mental  research  is  vain.  There  is 
absolutely  no  theme  either  in  science,  morals,  or  re- 
ligion, connected  with  which  there  are  not  heights  of 
thought  we  cannot  reach,  depths  we  cannot  fathom, 
and  breadths  we  cannot  comprehend.  And  yet  in 
all  these  fields  of  thought  we  may  know  enough  for 
our  present  needs,  and  entertain  the  precious  hope 
that  future  necessities  will  be  met  by  our  having 
learned  more  and  more  of  these  high,  deep,  and 
broad  things  of  God's  beneficent  providence. 

If,  then,  the  subject  of  demonology  has  largely  to 
do  with  human  character,  and  determines  to  a  great 
extent  our  well-being  for  time  and  eternity;  and  if 
the  views  even  of  Christians  are  widely  at  variance, 
may  we  not  enter  with  a  genuine  interest  into  the 
questions,  Who  is  the  Devil?  What  is  his  power  ? 
What  is  his  purpose  f 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

WHO   IS   THE   DEVIL? 

Something  more  than  a  ghost  of  human  imagination. 

Since  a  belief  in  a  personal  devil  or  devils  is  as 
wide-spread  and  universal  as  the  race  of  man,  it  can- 
not be  disposed  of  upon  the  supposition  that  it  is 
merely  a  superstition.  Human  imagination  may  play, 
and  doubtless  has  played,  a  most  important  part  in 
leading  to  foolish  theories  and  silly  extravagances- 


334  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

but  underneath  all  these  spectral  images  of  falsehood 
there  must  be  some  great  fundamental  truth,  the 
foundation-fact  upon  which  this  mighty  superstruc- 
ture of  ghostly  conception  rests. 

For  example,  the  system  of  astrology,  as  taught 
and  practiced  by  the  Oriental  diviners,  is  now  looked 
upon,  under  the  light  of  true  science,  as  being 
largely  the  creature  of  mere  imagination.  But 
while  superstition  leads  to  false  theories  and  non- 
sensical conclusions,  the  entire  system  is  known  to 
rest  upon  some  of  the  foundation-facts  of  astronomy. 
In  the  absence  of  such  truth  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible for  them  to  build  up  such  a  temple  of  false- 
hood. Show  us  a  universal  superstition,  whether  in 
science,  morals,  or  religion,  and  we  will  point  you  to 
a  great  truth  as  its  correlative. 

Ideality  can  rest  only  upon  the  foundation  of 
possible  truth.  The  temple  of  a  universal  supersti- 
tion may  be  built,  but  by  no  possibility  in  the  ab- 
sence of  material  out  of  which  to  build  it.  To  con- 
vince ourselves  of  the  utter  impossibility  of  thinking 
of  something  as  having  been  created  without  mate- 
rials out  of  which  to  make  it,  we  need  only  make 
the  mental  effort  :  such  experience  will  at  once  con- 
vince us  that  we  are  grasping  after  a  fantasy.  If 
it  be  possible  for  the  mind  to  consent  to  the  propo- 
sition of  "  creation  without  material,"  it  must  be  the 
consent  of  blindness,  and  not  of  seeing.  Even  if  we 
say  that  "  God  created  the  world  out  of  nothing," 
we  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  a  conclusion  con- 


WHO   IS   THE  DEVIL?  335 

trary  to  all  known  facts.  If  we  reason  from  obser- 
vation and  experience,  it  must  be  observed  that 
there  is  nothing  that  we  have  seen  or  known  that 
even  suggests  the  possibiHty  of  creation  without 
material.  AH  analogy  and  philosophy  would  seem 
to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  when  God  created  the 
world  he  had  the  materials  at  hand  out  of  which  to 
create  it.  If  we  believe  it  to  be  otherwise,  we  must 
further  conclude  that  it  is  a  fact  known  only  to 
God. 

When,  then,  the  skeptic  seeks  to  get  rid  of  the 
Devil  upon  the  easy  supposition  of  a  universal  super- 
stition, he  has  conceded  a  fact  which,  in  the  light  of 
reason,  proves  the  existence  of  the  very  thing  which 
he  has  sought  to  deny  ;  for  this  universality  of  be- 
lief only  proves  that  however  diversified  and  irrecon- 
cilable the  theories,  the  root  of  the  whole  matter  is 
innate.  The  light  of  the  ages  has  reflected  the 
truth  of  that  saying  of  Oriental  philosophy:  "The 
consent  of  all  nations  must  be  accepted  as  the  law 
of  God."  As  all  nations,  therefore,  have  consented 
to  the  belief  in  a  devil,  it  argues  that  the  foundation 
of  the  belief  is  of  divine  origin. 

This  universal  belief  can  only  be  accounted  for,  as 
it  seems  to  us,  in  one  of  two  ways:  either,  first,  it 
was  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the  human  mind 
and  the  providence  of  God  ;  or  else,  secondly,  there 
is  a  demonizing  monster  in  the  moral  universe  who 
has  been  allowed  by  Providence  to  address  himself 
to    the    experience    of   every  human    being.     It    is 


336  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

either  inherent  or  external.  And  whichever  it  may 
be,  the  great  fact  of  an  opposing  devil  remains 
the  same  in  the  bitter  experience  of  each  indi- 
vidual soul.  The  divine  purpose  of  this  internal 
creation  or  external  power  will  be  fully  considered 
farther  on.  In  this  connection  we  need  only  observe 
that  the  man  who  considers  the  Devil  to  be  only  a 
ghost  of  human  imagination  has  reached  a  conclu- 
sion that  is  devoid  of  all  sound  reason — he  contra- 
dicts observation  and  universal  experience. 

As  the  myriad  rays  of  light  in  their  going  forth 
are  wholly  dependent  upon  the  sun,  so  the  legion 
of  devils  which  have  stalked  over  the  earth  to 
haunt  the  race  are  dependent  upon  some  central 
truth.  Moreover,  as  following  a  single  ray  of  light 
will  certainly  lead  to  the  sun  as  its  center  and 
source,  so  following  the  notion  of  any  imaginative 
devil,  even  of  hoof  and  horn,  will  conduct  us  to  a 
great  philosophical  truth  as  his  progenitor. 

It  becomes  our  duty,  therefore,  to  remove,  as  far 
as  may  be,  the  rubbish  of  superstition,  and  to  seek 
the  fundamental  truth  which  lies  beneath  it  all,  and 
which  has  been  largely  hid  from  the  ages.  As  our 
reasoning  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Devil  is 
more  than  a  mere  spectral  image,  the  question  again 
recurs,  "  Who  is  the  Devil  ?" 


IS  THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       33/ 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

IS  THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER? 

Titles  of  Satan  as  set  forth  in  "  Footprints  of  Satan." — (i)  Why  is 
such  a  devil  permitted  to  live  ? — (2)  How  was  Satan's  fall  miide 
possil)le? — (3)  Why  was  he  permiited  to  remain  in  heaven? — 
(4)  Why  precipitated  upon  an  unoffending  humanity  ? — Satatrs 
wretched  condition. — Whence  the  popular  theory  ? — Why  does 
he  continue  to  exist? — Statements  at  variance  with  facts.  —  His 
supposed  power  over  the  elements. — Three  wonders  ! — (a)  How 
rapidly  does  the  wind  travel  before  slipping  into  the  hand  of 
Satan? — {b)  He  should  have  credit  for  all  good  results. — {c) 
The  popular  devil  is  no  devil  at  all. — (</)  Is  the  Devil  the 
author  of  science? 

In  seeking  an  answer  to  this  important  question 
we  need,  as  far  as  possible,  to  rid  ourselves  of  any- 
preconceived  opinions.  We  say  "  as  far  as  possible," 
because  it  is  not  within  the  line  of  possibility  for 
a  man  entirely  to  extricate  himself  from  those  opin- 
ions which  have  "  grown  with  his  growth  and 
strengthened  with  his  strength."  Not  only  in  re- 
ligion, but  in  morals  and  science  as  well,  we  believe 
largely  what  we  have  been  taught  to  believe.  But 
though  we  are,  to  a  great  extent,  slaves  to  an  edu- 
cation over  which  we  have  had  but  little  control, 
yet  we  may  by  personal  effort  do  something  com- 
mendable in  the  way  of  lifting  up  the  windows  that 

light  may  come  in  to  dispel  darkness,  and  truth  to 
22 


338  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

take  the  place  of  what  may  be  a  degrading  supersti- 
tion. If  we  desire  to  get  rid  of  this  mental  slavery 
and  come  into  the  true  **  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God," 
we  must  have  the  courage  of  our  own  convictions. 
He  that  follows  the  lead  of  popular  thought,  in  the 
fear  of  being  ostracized  for  the  sin  of  thinking  as 
God  may  help  him  to  think,  is  fit  only  to  be  a  slave. 

Although,  then,  we  cannot  entirely  rid  ourselves 
of  our  preconceived  opinions,  we  may  at  least  follow 
the  guide  of  our  own  honest  convictions.  What  is 
needed  in  the  world  of  religious  thought,  more  than 
anything  else,  is  moral  heroism.  If  the  right  and 
duty  of  each  man  to  think  for  himself  were  the  pop- 
ular grace  of  the  hour,  there  would  come  an  inspira- 
tion like  "a.  rushing  mighty  wind,"  that  would  not 
only  break  the  shackles  that  bind  us  to  the  interpre- 
tations of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  would  dispel 
the  gloom  of  superstition  which  has  been  and  now  is 
the  progenitor  of  all  intelligent  and  honest  infidelity. 

Not  a  little  of  this  baneful  influence  has  grown 
out  of  the  sacrilegious  superstition  which  has  gath- 
ered about  this  subject  of  Demonology.  It  having 
been  assumed  that  he  is  a  personal  monster,  his 
Satanic  majesty  has  been  exalted  to  a  rivalship  with 
the  Almighty  himself.  His  wisdom,  power,  and 
ubiquity,  if  not  absolutely  supreme,  are  of  such 
character  at  least  as  to  make  him  a  strong  competi- 
tor with  Him  who  is  omniscient,  omnipotent,  and 
omnipresent.  To  us  such  a  doctrine  is,  in  the  high- 
est sense,  sacrilegious  and  profane.     That  the  popu- 


IS  THE  DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       339 

lar  theory  of  Demonology  robs  God  of  the  honor 
which  rightfully  belongs  to  him,  the  reader  will  see 
by  giving  a  careful  reading  and  an  unbiased  criticism 
to  the  following  lines  of  thought. 

We  cannot  give  a  better  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion Who  is  the  Devil  ?  — as  held  by  those  who 
believe  him  to  be  a  "  personal  monster," — than  by 
quoting  the  language  of  an  eloquent  and  repre- 
sentative writer  of  that  school.  Rev.  Hollis  Read, 
A.M.,  author  of  recent  works  entitled  "  Footprints 
of  Satan,"  *'  God  in  History,"  etc.  Perhaps  not  all 
who  hold  the  theory  would  carry  its  application  to 
the  same  extreme  that  this  author  does;  but  we 
give  it  as  showing  the  logical  conclusion  to  which 
the  doctrine  leads,  in  order  to  examine  fairly  and 
fully  the  foundation  on  which  it  stands. 

The  author  says  in  *'  Footprints"  : 

**  The  notable  personage  in  question  is  known 
by  a  great  variety  of  names.  Among  these  are 
Apollyon,  the  destroyer;  Lucifer,  Son  of  the  Morn- 
ing, or  the  Morning  Star,  denoting  his  exalted  sta- 
tion;  the  old  Dragon,  Serpent,  or  Unclean  Spirit; 
Satan,  or  the  great  enemy;  Belial,  or  destitution  of 
all  goodness;  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils; 
Tempter,  Enemy,  Accuser  of  the  brethren,  and  a 
liar.  He  is  also  called  sinner,  murderer,  adversary, 
beast,  deceiver,  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  prince 
of  darkness,  lion  going  about  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour.  .  .  . 

**  All  seem  agreed,  as  we  have  seen,  to  call  him  by 


340  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

bad  names.  True,  he  is  often  called  an  angel,  but 
not  in  a  connection  to  make  it  complimentary.  He 
is  called  the  fallen  angel,  the  angel  of  the  bottomless 
pit,  the  messenger  of  evil.  The  title,  though  hon- 
orable in  itself,  seems  in  this  case  retained  rather  as 
a  bitter  remembrance  of  what  he  once  was.  It  re- 
calls his  origin  and  former  position.  He  was  an 
angel :  Lucifer,  the  son  of  the  morning,  the  morning 
star.  No  title  like  this  most  honorable  one  can 
convey  to  this  fallen  spirit  so  burning  a  remem- 
brance of  the  past.  .  .  . 

"Can  we  shield  ourselves  from  his  cunning  de- 
vices ?  He  is  not  absolutely  omnipresent,  as  he  is 
not  omnipotent.  Yet  he  has  a  wonderful  ubiquity. 
He  may  be  superintending  affairs  in  his  Sodom,  in 
London,  or  in  New  York,  and,  apparently  at  the 
same  moment,  be  supervising  the  doings  of  his  min- 
ions in  his  Gomorrah  in  India  or  China.  Either  by 
his  agents  or  by  his  own  presence,  transported 
thither  as  by  lightning  speed,  he  may,  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes,  be  in  each  and  every  place  at  the 
same  time.  By  his  wonderful  facilities  of  locomo- 
tion he  has  a  sort  of  omnipresence.  .  .  . 

"  His  original  home  was  in  heaven,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  holy  angels,  where  he  was  an  angel  high 
and  holy.  The  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old 
serpent  called  the  Devil  and  Satan,  who  deceiveth 
the  whole  world  :  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth, 
and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with  him.  .  .  . 

"  Such  are  his  locomotive  powers,  and  such  the 


IS  THE  DEVIL  A  PERSONAL  MONSTER?      34T 

number  and  activities  of  his  hosts,  that  for  all  pur- 
poses of  mischief  he  is  everywhere  and  in  every- 
place at  the  same  time. 

"  Nor  is  the  Devil  omnipotent ;  yet  he  is  possessor 
of  tremendous  powers.  In  Egypt  he  wrought  mira- 
cles. Through  magicians,  sorcerers,  and  soothsayers 
he  did  wonders.  He  had  power  over  plagues  and  dis- 
eases to  afflict  men,  as  in  the  case  of  Job.  And  to  a 
limited  extent,  though  not  within  narrow  limits,  has 
he  power  over  the  elements  of  nature  to  do  manifest 
and  mighty  mischief.  And  perhaps  his  greatest  power 
is  not  that  which  he  has  over  the  bodies  and  the  tem- 
poral interests  of  men.  He  has  a  controlling  power 
over  the  human  mind.  He  presents  motives  and 
uses  devices  which  are  often  all  but  irresistible.  .  .  . 

"Angels  are  of  a  vastly  higher  grade  of  intellect 
than  men,  and  the  chief  of  angels  is  no  doubt  supe- 
rior to  the  common  order.  Satan  took  rank  with 
the  higher  order,  and  we  may  not  suppose  his  intel- 
lectual caliber  lessened  because  of  his  moral  perver- 
sion. He  has  probably  more  than  made  up  in  craft 
and  cunning  and  malignity  what  he  lost  in  moral 
virtues.  His  fierce  and  desperate  warfare  with 
heaven  and  heaven's  King  has,  we  may  suppose, 
quickened  his  intellect,  drawn  out  the  latent  re- 
sources of  his  mind,  and,  as  fired  by  pride,  hate,  and 
revenge,  he  has  ever  since  his  apostasy  been  intel- 
lectually growing  into  a  more  complete  maturit}'  of 
all  that  is  devilish." 

The  foregoing  seems  to  be  a  fair  representation 


342  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

of  the  popular  thought  touching  the  question  Who 
is  the  Devil  ? 

A  theory  should  neither  be  antagonized  on  ac- 
count of  its  popularity,  nor  adopted  because  of  its 
conceded  orthodoxy.  Truth  is  very  often  found 
greatly  in  the  minority. 

The  answer,  as  set  forth  in  the  above  quotation, 
seems  not  only  altogether  too  superficial,  but  if 
allowed  the  benefit  of  its  own  logic,  must  inevitably 
lead  to  the  most  absurd  conclusions.  It  goes  upon 
the  supposition  that  the  Devil  is  not  only  in  open 
antagonism  to  God,  but  that  he  is  an  unmitigated 
curse  in  the  Father's  moral  universe.  Besides,  such 
literal  interpretation  of  Scriptures  which  all  con- 
cede to  be  highly  figurative,  so  far  from  answering 
the  question  in  hand,  only  raises  others  vastly  more 
difficult  to  solve.  From  this  system  of  doctrine  the 
philosopher  who  thinks  beneath  the  surface  is  led 
logically  to  reason  thus: 

I.  If  the  Devil  is  in  open  rebellion  against  God, 
seeking  to  destroy  all  that  is  beautiful  in  nature  and 
lovely  in  virtue,  and  without  a  redeeming  quality 
either  in  character  or  work,  why  is  such  an  unmiti- 
gated curse  permitted  to  mar  the  work  of  the  Father 
of  all,  who  is  infinite  in  wisdom,  omnipotent  in 
power,  and  boundless  in  love  ? 

The  very  existence  of  a  foe  of  such  malignity,  and 
one  whose  recovery  is  absolutely  hopeless,  argues 
one  of  two  things  :  either, 

First,  that  he  lives  in  defiance  of  God  ;  or 


IS  THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       343 

Second,  what  is  worse,  that  the  Father  regards 
his  work  of  destruction  with  the  utmost  indiffer- 
ence. 

But  in  the  h'ght  both  of  sound  reason  and  of  the 
Bible  rightly  interpreted,  we  are  not  at  hberty  to 
adopt  a  theory  the  logic  of  which  leads  to  any  such 
absurd  conclusions.  In  answer  to  the  question, 
Why  does  God  permit  the  Devil  to  exist  ?  it  may 
be  said  by  some  that  it  is  a  problem  too  deep  for 
human  reason,  and  one  upon  which  revelation  throws 
no  light.  But  it  seems  altogether  more  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  a  speculation  which  necessarily  in- 
volves such  a  dilemma  is  as  false  in  philosophy  as 
it  is  contrary  to  sound  Biblical  exegesis.  Certainly 
the  guidings  of  truth  will  not  lead  to  so  preposterous 
a  conclusion.  A  doctrine,  however  popular,  which 
logically  involves  any  such  irrational  deduction 
must  be  fundamentally  false. 

II.  If  this  Satan,  who  is  now  such  a  huge  and 
horrid  monster,  was  once  not  only  an  angel,  but  the 
chief  of  angels,  the  question  reasonably  and  neces- 
sarily arises,  How  was  it  possible  for  him  to  fall 
from  such  a  height  of  glory  to  such  an  abyss  of  un- 
utterable wretchedness? 

If  the  Devil  is  to  be  substituted  as  the  cause  of  the 
fall  of  man,  who,  we  must  inquire,  was  the  cause  of 
his  own  fearful  disaster?  An  effect  which  has  so 
perverted  the  purposes  of  Infinite  Wisdom  must 
have  had  a  sufficient  cause.  But  the  following  sug- 
gestions will  show  that  we  search  in  vain  for  such  a 


344  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

cause,  and  so   may   legitimately  doubt    the  whole 
theory : 

(a)  The  cause  of  his  fall  cannot  be  found  in  his 
original  nature,  for  he  was  created  of  God  not  only 
*'an  angel,"  but  the  ''chief  of  angels,"  pure  and 
spotless.  The  doctrine  under  review  goes  upon  this 
supposition. 

(5)  Neither  is  it  to  be  traced  to  his  original  sur- 
roundings. He  was  not  only  the  chief  of  angels,  but 
he  was  in  heaven,  where  there  was  nothing  to  harm 
him  or  lead  him  aside  from  holiness. 

The  author  we  have  quoted  well  says  :  "  When  sin 
was  first  conceived  in  the  mind  of  Satan  there  was 
nothing  in  all  the  universe  to  suggest  it — there  was 
no  temptation,  no  occasion  for  it.  Everything  was 
in  harmony  with  holiness."  But  after  relieving 
heaven  of  the  responsibility  of  such  a  fearful  calam- 
ity, the  writer  then  attaches  all  blame  to  the  Devil, 
and  says,  "The  thouo;ht  came  from  within.  It  oriei- 
nated  in  Iiimself."  But  he  seems  to  entirely  over- 
look the  fact  that  this  proposition  utterly  destroys 
the  original  assumption,  namely,  that  "  Satan  was 
an  angel."  No  :  '*  he  was  originally  an  angel  ;  and 
like  every  other  angel  he  came  from  the  hands  of 
his  Maker  a  pure  and  holy  being." 

How,  we  may  well  inquire,  could  the  thought 
of  sin,  and  that  of  the  most  malignant  character, 
enter  the  mind  of  "  a  pure  and  holy  being,"  and 
that  too  when  "  there  was  nothing  in  all  the  universe 
to  suggest  it "?     We  aver,  in  the  light  of  sense  and 


IS  THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL  MONSTER?       345 

reason,  that  the  man  or  set  of  men  who  can  believe 
all  this  can  have  no  assurance  of  the  absolute  secur- 
ity of  any  being,  not  even  of  God  himself.  Certainly 
it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things  for  the  Infinite 
Father  to  be  anything  more  than  an  absolutely 
**  pure  and  holy  Being,"  nor  can  we  conceive  of  bet- 
ter surroundings  than  those  of  Satan's  heavenly 
home,  where  he  dwelt  as  the  *'  chief  of  angels,"  and 
had  nothing  to  suggest  a  temptation. 

Such  doctrine  inevitably  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  remains  a  possibility  for  all  heaven  yet  to 
be  turned  into  hell,  and  the  All-Father  to  be  changed 
into  an  omnipotent  devil  ! 

The  question,  What  induced  the  *' chief  of  angels" 
to  become  the  *'  prince  of  devils"  ?  recurs  with  all  its 
original  force.  The  only  answer  attempted  by  the 
author  under  review  is  that  this  chief  of  angels  was 
"on  trial" — was  a  "  free  agent" — '*  free  to  sin,  free 
to  maintain  his  integrity."  But  all  this  is  only  a 
beautiful  jingle  of  words  without  meaning.  When 
it  is  said  that  "  he  was  free  to  sin,"  we  instinctively 
ask,  "  Whence  the  possibility  of  such  freedom  T*  As 
we  have  seen,  and  as  the  writer  admits,  it  was  not 
in  his  nature  to  have  any  such  "freedom"!  To 
talk  of  an  absolutely  *'  holy  being"  having  the  abil- 
ity to  choose  evil  is  just  as  sensible,  and  has  just  as 
much  meaning,  as  to  speak  of  studying  science 
without  intellect,  of  deciding  between  right  and 
wrong  with  no  moral  sense,  of  observing  the  dif- 
ferent   colors   without    the    sense    of   sight.      If    a 


346  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

man  can  see  without  eyes,  hear  without  ears,  and 
breathe  without  lungs — if  we  can  believe  all  this, 
then  we  may  consent  to  the  proposition  that  a 
being  can  sin  when  his  very  nature  forbids  the 
possibility. 

But,  that  absurdity  may  appear  more  absurd,  we 
are  led  to  inquire,  How  was  it  possible  that  this  chief 
of  angels  in  heaven  was  free  to  choose  evil  when 
there  was  no  evil  to  choose  ?  Such  terms  as  "  on 
trial,"  ''  free  agent,"  *'  free  to  sin,"  have  a  sensible 
meaning  when  applied  to  man  in  this  sinful  world, 
but  when  used  with  reference  to  the  chief  of  angels 
in  heaven,  then  they  are  like  "  sounding  brass  and 
tinkling  cymbals." 

The  advocate  of  the  doctrine  under  review,  after 
stating  that  Satan's  great  sin  "  originated  in  himself  " 
while  he  was  "a  pure  and  holy  being,"  and  that,  too, 
when  **  there  was  no  temptation,  no  occasion  for  it," 
seeincf  the  dilemma  into  which  he  had  fallen,  seeks 
to  extricate  himself  by  saying,  ''  Here  all  is  chaos." 
An  evil  thought  presupposes  an  evil  mind.  But  his 
mind  was  holy.  Then  how  could  it  conceive  an  un- 
holy deed?  We  cannot  grasp  the  conception  of  a 
holy  nature  effecting  an  unholy  thing.  And  how  that 
nature  was  so  transformed  as  to  transgress  defies 
our  understanding.  An  angel  one  moment,  a  devil 
the  next — this  is  the  sphinx  of  history. 

Thus  we  are  brought  to  the  end  of  this  specious 
reasoning  and  theorizing,  which  has  broken  down 
of  its  own  weight.  Let  us  conclude,  rather,  that 
"this  is  the  sphinx"  of  a  fabulous  demonology. 


IS  THE   DEVIL  A  PERSONAL   MONSTER?       347 

A  doctrine,  though  it  be  regarded  as  soundly 
orthodox,  which  only  makes  "  darkness  more  visible 
and  confusion  worse  confounded,"  should  be  aban- 
doned by  sensible  people  and  relegated  to  the  dark 
ages  whence  it  originated. 

(c)  If  Satan's  fall,  which  has  entailed  such  untold 
disaster  upon  our  innocent  race,  cannot  be  traced  to 
any  taint  of  depravity  belonging  to  his  absolute 
angelhood,  nor  yet  to  the  slightest  imperfection  of 
his  heavenly  surroundings,  there  seems  to  remain 
but  one  other  possible  cause,  and  that  is  God  him- 
self !  But  the  better  angel  of  our  nature  instinctive- 
ly spurns  this  suggestion,  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  Father's  benevolent  design  in  the  creation 
of  man  can  be  better  served  by  inciting  "  an  angel 
one  moment  "  to  become  "  a  devil  the  next."  But, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  whole  theory  goes  upon  the 
supposition  that  Satan  is  an  "  unmitigated  curse," 
"  having  no  redeeming  quality,  either  in  character  or 
works." 

That  this  supposition,  however,  is  not  only  false 
in  the  philosophy  of  human  experience,  but  ground- 
less in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  will  be  shown  under 
the  last  chapter  of  this  part.  Meantime  let  us  ob- 
serve other  difificult  questions  which  necessarily 
arise  out  of  the  theory  under  review. 

The  popular  faith,  having  given  an  interpretation 
to  the  Scriptures  bearing  upon  the  subject,  based 
chiefly  upon  Milton's  '*  Paradise  Lost,"  assumes  that 
this  chief  of  angels,  after  he  had  become  an  arch- 
fiend, was  permitted  to  remain  in  heaven  until  he 


348  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

had  induced  a  large  number  of  the  heavenly  host 
to  become  his  disciples.  His  following  became  so 
great,  that  he  dared  to  wage  war  in  that  celestial 
land  against  the  Almighty.  Just  here  sound  reason 
suggests  a  few  minor  questions. 

First:  If  heaven  was  in  a  state  of  warlike  siege, 
did  it  not  cease  to  be  heaven  ?  The  chief-infernal 
pitting  his  minions  of  fallen  spirits  against  God  and 
his  holy  angels  must  for  a  time  have  changed  heaven 
into  hell. 

Second  :  If  this  theory  is  true,  must  we  not  infer 
that  the  devil's  work  of  seduction  and  the  mustering 
of  his  hosts  were  unknown  to  God  ? 

III.  If  not,  then  the  great  question  is,  Why 
did  the  omniscient,  omnipotent,  and  loving  Father 
permit  Satan  to  remain  in  heaven  until  he  had 
tainted  everything  with  the  breath  of  his  rebellion? 

Even  an  earthly  parent,  having  a  due  regard  for 
the  welfare  of  his  family,  would  unhesitatingly  eject 
from  his  household  a  character  whose  very  presence 
would  breed  moral  corruption  and  end  in  cruel  death 
to  the  inmates  of  his  home.  The  father  who  would 
do  otherwise  would  proclaim  one  of  two  things: 
either,  first,  his  inability  to  protect  those  intrusted 
to  his  care,  or,  second,  his  indisposition,  which  is  in- 
finitely worse.  If  such  a  course  would  necessarily 
reflect  either  upon  the  competency  or  moral  charac- 
ter of  an  earthly  father,  what  shall  we  think  of  the 
efficiency  or  fatherly  character  of  Him  who  suffered 
the  chief  of  angels,  after  he  had  become  the  prince 


IS  THE  DEVIL  A   PERSONAL  MONSTER?       349 

of  devils,  to  gather  an  army  sufficient  to  lay  siege  on 
heaven  with  the  vile  purpose  of  usurping  the  throne 
of  the  universe  ?  This  is  the  sacrilegious  logic  which 
we  are  forced  to  adopt  if  we  accept  the  prevalent 
view  of  dcmonology. 

In  reply  to  this,  some  one  may  say  that  the  same 
charges  may  be  preferred  against  God's  providences 
in  relation  to  this  world.  "  Why,"  it  may  be 
asked,  ''does  the  All-Father  permit  Satan  and  his 
legions  of  devils  to  do  their  marauding  work  over 
this  world,  filling  it  with  sin,  the  result  of  which  is 
human  wretchedness,  misery,  and  the  very  blackness 
of  darkness?"  We  emphatically  answer  that  unless 
the  Devil  and  his  minions  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
Almighty  as  simple  instrumentalities  in  accomplish- 
ing his  benevolent  designs  of  developing  and  purify- 
ing, even  as  by  fire,  the  highest  type  of  humanity,  so 
that  man  may  thus  prove  himself  worthy  of  the 
divine  approval,  then  our  innocent  race  has  a  right 
in  equity  to  enter  complaint  at  the  bar  of  impartial 
justice. 

We  aver  that  the  popular  view  which  represents 
Satan  as  in  uncontrollable  antagonism  to  God,  in- 
stead of  serving  in  his  hands  as  a  helpful  means  of 
accomplishing  his  wise  and  beneficent  purposes  con- 
cerninc^  man,  is  a  foul  slander  which  has  too  long 
disgraced  our  holy  religion. 

While  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  next  chapter  for 
the  defense  of  this  thought,  it  is  proper  to  observe, 
in  this  connection,  that  there  is  no  analogy  between 


350  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  conditions  of  heaven  and  those  of  earth.  Hence, 
while  the  power  and  benevolence  of  God  may  and 
must  be  defended  in  their  relation  to  the  affairs  of 
our  world,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  authority  and 
goodness  of  a  Providence  which  permitted  the 
prince  of  devils  to  remain  in  heaven  until  his  breath 
of  seduction  had  polluted  and  damned  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  God's  holy  angels,  who  had  always 
been  pure  and  perfect  in  their  worship? 

While  we  shall  farther  along  defend  the  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness  of  our  God  in  permitting  in  this 
world  the  work  of  moral  evil  attributed  to  Satan, 
we  cheerfully  assign  to  the  author  under  review  the 
heavier  task  of  answering  the  question.  Why  was 
this  chief-infernal  allowed  to  remain  in  heaven  until 
he  had  recruited  an  army  whose  only  mission  was 
the  destruction  of  God's  moral  universe  ? 

IV.  In  the  light  of  the  doctrine  under  con- 
sideration, we  are  led  to  inquire,  Why  were  the 
Devil  and  his  army  precipitated  upon  the  innocent 
race  of  mankind  ?  After  having  been  tolerated  until 
he  had,  for  the  time,  set  all  heaven  at  war  and  the 
hour  had  come  when  the  Devil  "  must  go,"  the  most 
unaccountable  thing  of  all  is  that  he  and  his  host 
had  not  been  not  only  consigned  to  but  shut  up  in 
hell,  that  their  polluting  presence  might  no  more  be  a 
disturbing  element  in  the  moral  universe.  Having 
relieved  the  society  of  angels  of  a  presence  so  cor- 
rupting and  damning,  why  turn  this  horde  of  in- 
fernal marauders,  moral  cut-throats,  and  worse  than 


IS  THE  DEVIL  A  PERSONAL  MONSTER?       35 1 

murderers,  loose  upon  an  innocent  humanity,  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  for  whose  dwelUng-place  a 
world  had  been  created  ? 

If  Satan  is  a  huge  and  horrid  monster,  answering 
no  design  of  benevolence  concerning  our  race,  we 
aver  that  the  method  of  relieving  angels  at  the  ex- 
pense of  an  unoffending  humanity  was  an  absolute 
injustice,  which  no  sound  logic  can  reconcile  with 
the  infinite  goodness  of  an  infinite  Father. 

A  doctrine  which  necessarily  involves  such  a  con- 
clusion must  in  the  nature  of  things  be  fundament- 
ally at  variance  with  our  conception  of  a  father  hav- 
ing jurisdiction  and  power  to  do  otherwise.  It  is  a 
happy  relief  to  be  assured  by  sound  reason,  support- 
ed by  revelation  and  the  possibilities  of  a  sanctified 
experience,  that  there  is  a  divine  philosophy,  com- 
ing within  the  compass  of  human  understanding, 
which  leads  to  no  such  sacrilegious  conclusions.  But 
before  pointing  out  such  philosophy,  it  will  help  us 
to  appreciate  its  beauty  and  worth  by  tracing  still 
farther  the  absurdities  to  which  we  are  led  by  the 
doctrine  under  consideration. 

From  the  *'  Footprints"  we  read :  "  Now,  Satan  is 
all  blackness,  and  he  is  therefore  all  woe.  I  think  this 
view  is  not  usually  prominent  in  our  ideas  of  the 
Devil."  The  author  has  no  ocasion  certainly  to  give 
himself  any  unrest  on  the  score  of  unpopularity. 
His  views  seem  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  those 
generally  accepted  as  orthodox.  ''  It  is  all  night 
with  him,  but  no  rest.    He  has  not  lost  his  nature — 


352  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

his  mind,  his  will,  his  desires,  his  sensibilities:  but 
these  only  serve  as  instruments  of  his  torture.  He 
wishes,  but  he  never  realizes ;  he  pursues,  but  never 
wins ;  he  thirsts,  but  he  never  drinks.  He  is  proud, 
but  he  knows  that  he  is  not  esteemed.  He  is  am- 
bitious, but  he  knows  he  can  never  rise.  He  plots, 
but  his  schemes  always  return  upon  himself.  With 
dire  hate  he  forges  chains  for  the  people  of  God,  but 
ere  long  those  chains  are  put  upon  his  own  limbs. 
The  Almighty  meets  him  in  every  snare,  and  doubles 
his  confusion.  His  very  struggles  sink  him  into 
lower  depths.  Mighty  mourner !  There  is  no  res- 
pite to  his  torments.  He  is  ever  consuming,  yet 
never  consumed  ;  always  dying,  but  never  dead.  His 
chains  are  always  on  him.  The  tempest  is  perpetu- 
ally raining  fire  and  brimstone  upon  his  pain-struck 
head ;  while  all  of  hell's  troubled  minions  are  un- 
ceasingly wailing  harsh  thunders  in  his  ears.  His 
very  eyes  weep  blood,  and  every  groan  he  heaves  is 
big  with  horror.  Blank  and  cheerless  despair  is  all 
that  is  before  him.  He  never  smiles.  Grim  woe 
never  relaxes  its  hold  upon  his  brow;  his  only  joy  is 
that  of  the  murderer,  who  falls  upon  his  victim  and, 
tearing  out  his  heart,  grates  his  teeth  over  its  agony. 
He  never  sings.  The  only  notes  he  can  utter  are 
imprecations  against  his  Maker,  curses  upon  his 
victims,  and  the  maniac  howl  of  remorse ;  and  the 
only  music  he  hears  is  the  echo  of  his  own  hollow 
moans,  the  widow's  sigh,  the  orphan's  curse,  the 
prisoner's  groan,  and  the  wild  shriek  of  tortured 


IS   THE   DEVIL   A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       353 

ghosts.  And  such  he  would  be  were  there  no  heaven 
for  him  to  envy,  no  God  to  condemn. 

"  Satan  is  the  great  deformity,  possessing  every 
abhorrent  attribute.  He  is  superlatively  wicked, 
and  therefore  superlatively  hateful.  And  he  is  hated, 
he  is  abhorred,  he  is  execrated.  God  the  Father 
hates  him;  God  the  Son  hates  him;  God  the  Spirit 
hates  him ;  the  seraphim  hate  him ;  the  cherubim 
hate  him ;  the  angels  hate  him ;  the  saints  all  hate 
him.  He  is  the  loathsome  wretch  that  heaven  has 
spewed  out  of  its  mouth." 

We  heave  a  sigh  of  relief,  and  instinctively  inquire, 
Is  there  any  truth  in  all  this?  The  theory  is 
dramatic — the  words  admirably  chosen,  and  the  style 
forceful.  But  will  it  endure  the  touchstone  of 
sound  reason  ?  Does  it  not  read  like  history  repeat- 
ing itself?  It  is  certainly  a  relic  of  heathen  mythol- 
ogy, which  has  insinuated  itself  into  a  religion  of 
more  advanced  thought !  Paganism  recognized  the 
universe  as  being  under  the  control  of  two  deities, 
who  were  in  open  antagonism  with  each  other:  one 
of  them  was  supremely  good,  the  other  superlatively 
mean.  Two  mighty  beings  in  open  antagonism, 
neither  of  whom  as  yet  had  obtained  the  mastery, 
was  the  doctrine  of  the  old  Parsee  or  Persian  reli- 
gion. We  submit  if  that  be  not  the  exact  theory 
of  this  modern  thought.  By  tracing  the  analogy, 
however,  we  shall  find  that  at  the  first  divergence 
paganism  vas  not  only  more  in  keeping  with  com- 
mon observation,  but  it  reflected  greater  honor  upon 


354  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  character  of  him  who,  in  their  view,  was  battling 
for  the  right.  The  old  doctrine  sought  to  maintain 
that  the  good  being  "  would  if  he  could,"  while  the 
new  goes  upon  the  supposition  that  he  '*  could  if  he 
would  "  !  The  former  only  reflected  on  the  J?owcr  of 
God,  while  the  latter  is  a  reproach  upon  his  moral 
character. 

If,  as  stated,  "  God  the  Father  hates  him,  God  the 
Son  hates  him,  and  God  the  Spirit  hates  him,"  we 
instinctively  ask.  Why  not  at  once  and  forever  put  a 
stop  to  his  destructive  career?  For  his  sake  there 
is  certainly  no  good  reason  why  the  omnipotent 
Father  should  permit  him  to  live  a  day  or  an  hour. 
His  very  existence  must  be  an  intolerable  burden  to 
himself,  when  "  the  tempest  is  perpetually  raining 
fire  and  brimstone  upon  his  pain-struck  head,  while 
all  of  hell's  troubled  minions  are  unceasingly  wail- 
ing harsh  thunders  in  his  ears,"  yea,  and  "■  his  very 
eyes  weep  blood,  and  every  groan  he  heaves  is  big 
with  horror." 

If  Satan  is  thus  filled  with  such  unutterable  woe, 
and  if  the  Almighty  "  meets  him  in  every  snare,  and 
doubles  his  confusion,"  even  human  sympathy 
would  most  earnestly  pray  that  the  incorrigible 
wretch  might  at  once  and  forever  cease  to  be.  Hav- 
ing damned  to  eternal  perdition  thousands  and 
thousands  of  once  holy  and  happy  angels  around 
the  throne  of  God,  and  having,  without  a  mitigating 
reason,  sent  untold  millions  of  our  race  to  a  cease- 
less hell,  and  being  himself  all  these  ages  a  wretch 


IS   THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       355 

infernal,  with  no  hope  of  recovery,  would  it  not  have 
been  wise  and  merciful  for  such  a  devil  to  have  per- 
ished at  the  very  moment  of  his  awful  fall? 

How  any  one  can  believe  a  doctrine  like  this,  and 
at  the  same  time  have  faith  in  the  existence  of  a 
Being  who  is  omnipotent  in  power  and  boundless  in 
love,  is  the  enigma  of  all  enigmas,  and  the  riddle  of 
all  riddles.  The  man  who  can  believe  in  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  horrid  monster,  and  at  the  same  time 
have  faith  in  a  Being  who  is  infinite  in  power  and 
benevolence,  must  certainly  be  demented.  We 
cover  the  inconsistency  with  a  mantle  of  charity, 
believing  it  to  be  poetical  oratory,  and  not  the  faith 
of  any  man. 

The  reader  will  perceive  by  a  little  careful  thought 
that  the  whole  theory  breaks  down  of  its  own  logic ; 
and  more — that  many  of  the  statements  are  widely 
at  variance  with  the  facts  of  observation.  Take  this, 
for  example:  *' He"  (Satan)  ''wishes,  but  he  never 
realizes."  Looking  at  the  practical  results  growing 
out  of  the  fearful  conflicts  between  sin,  of  which  the 
monster  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause,  and  righteous- 
ness, of  which  God  is  the  author,  is  it  true  that  this 
arch-fiend  ''never  realizes"?  If  he  has  not  realized 
all  that  he  has  designed,  certainly  his  Satanic  majesty 
has  had  occasion  to  congratulate  himself  on  many  a 
success ;  for  he  has  realized  about  all  the  results 
that  were  observable. 

Again,  it  is  said  that  "  he  pursues  but  never  wins." 
In  another  part  of  the  work  under  review   this  per- 


356  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

sonal  monster  Is  charged  with  having  instigated  all 
the  wars  which  have  ever  cursed  our  race.  As  the 
history  of  mankind,  especially  in  its  earlier  periods, 
was  largely  a  record  of  cruel,  bloody  butchery,  who 
dare  say,  in  the  light  of  the  awful  results,  that  this 
chief  of  devils,  who  has  captured  the  desires  and 
hearts  of  thousands  of  the  holy  angels  and  been 
victorious  in  damning  millions  of  our  race,  "  pursues 
but  never  wins"?  That  this  hitherto  victorious 
chief  is  finally  to  be  conquered  does  not  militate 
against  the  fact  that  he  has  won,  and  is  still  winning, 
many  a  victory. 

Certainly  the  author  was  only  indulging  his  imagi- 
nation, or  else  he  entirely  overlooked  the  popularity 
of  Satan,  when  he  said  "  he  is  proud,  but  he  knows 
that  he  is  not  esteemed."  After  the  first  sober 
thought,  the  common  observer  instinctively  exclaims, 
Who  in  all  the  wide  universe  is  followed  by  such  an 
"innumerable  multitude"  of  shouting  admirers  as  is 
this  "  prince  of  darkness"? 

The  author  proceeds  :  "  He  is  ambitious,  but  he 
knows  he  can  never  rise."  The  proposition  is  sub- 
ject to  two  criticisms:  first,  it  is  a  mental  impossi- 
bility to  have  an  ambition  to  do  a  thing  where  there 
is  at  the  same  time  a  conscious  knowledge  of  an  en- 
tire inability  to  do  it.  Faith  in  the  possibility  of 
accomplishing  an  end  is  an  indispensable  incentive 
to  ambition.  Take  this  confidence  entirely  out  of  the 
mind  of  man  or  devil,  and  aspirations  are  all  gone. 
Convince   the  mind  of  the  impossibility  of  doing 


IS   THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL  MONSTER?       357 

a  thing,  and  it  at  once  is  so  paralyzed  that  it  cannot 
so  much  as  put  forth  an  effort  to  do  that  thing. 

Secondly,  is  it  in  keeping  with  the  facts  of  history 
that  *'  he  knows  he  can  never  rise"  ?  He  may  be 
doomed,  and  even  apparently  consumed,  yet  from 
his  ashes,  phoenix-like,  he  comes  forth  rejuvenated. 
If,  upon  the  supposition  of  two  beings  in  open  com- 
bat, we  are  to  decide  from  appearances  upon  the 
questions  of  their  comparative  wisdom  and  power, 
we  must  conclude  that  Satan  is  at  least  the  peer  of 
the  Omniscient  and  Omnipotent. 

It  is  thus  that  the  theory,  by  the  logic  of  its  own 
conclusions,  robs  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  universe 
of  the  honor  due  him.  In  the  light  of  passing 
events,  who  can  say  that  Satan  is  in  mourning  be- 
cause of  the  untimely  departure  of  all  his  friends 
and  the  miscarriage  of  all  his  devilish  plans  ?  Such 
flights  of  imagination,  when  presented  to  the  world 
as  facts  to  be  believed,  are  sacrilegious,  in  that  they 
lead  honest  but  superficial  men  to  doubt  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Supreme  Intelligence,  whose  dominion  is 
universal  and  absolute.  Faith  in  the  existence  of 
an  Omnipotent  Father  will  not  concede  the  origin 
or  continuance  of  any  devil  who  was  not  planned  in 
the  councils  of  Infinite  Wisdom  as  an  instrumental- 
ity in  carrying  out  his  benevolent  designs  concern- 
ing our  race. 

As  this  whole  theory  is  not  only  a  superstition 
which  had  its  origin  in  paganism,  but  is  also  the 
progenitor  of  a  ruinous  skepticism,  it  deserves  to  be 


358  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

eliminated  from  our  religion  and  returned  to  heathen 
mythology. 

That  the  reader  may  see  the  truth,  as  taught  in 
science  and  revelation,  and  appreciate  it  all  the 
more  by  comparison  with  superstition,  this  popular 
doctrine  seeks  to  maintain  that  this  arch-fiend,  as 
we  have  seen,  of  his  own  will,  has  not  only  plucked 
angels  out  of  the  hand  of  God,  and  hurled  them 
down  to  endless  perdition,  and,  with  his  "  hell- 
hounds" let  loose  upon  unoffending  humanity,  con- 
signed millions  to  an  unceasing  hell;  but,according 
to  this  wonderful  author,  he  has  been  permitted  to 
obtain  large  dominion  over  the  material  universe. 
This  will  be  seen  by  the  following  quotation  : 

"And  what  shall  we  say  of  those  throes  and 
spasms  of  nature — those  anomalies  or  aberrations 
which  appear  in  the  tempest,  in  the  desolating 
storm,  the  tornado,  the  thunderbolt,  and  the  terrific 
earthquake  and  the  volcano,  if  they  be  not  the  fear, 
ful  utterances,  the  infernal  demonstrations  and  acts 
of  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  old  serpent 
of  Eden,  the  spoiler  of  all  beauty,  peace,  and  happi- 
ness ;  of  him  who  changed  Paradise  into  a  pande- 
monium ?  But  for  sin  and  the  rule  of  Satan  there 
would  have  been  none  of  these  disturbing  elements, 
these  devastating  conflicts.  '  That  black-winged 
tempest  that  comes  up  from  the  wilderness,  sweep- 
ing down  the  hills,  piling  up  the  forests,  and  breaking 
the  great  oaks  as  if  they  were  pipe-stems ;  that 
frightful  storm  at  sea,  churning  the  waters  into  foam, 


IS  THE  DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       359 

plowin^T  the  surface  into  ugly  chasms,  and  throw- 
ing the  mariner  upon  his  knees  to  Hft  his  prayer  to 
the  blackened  heavens;  that  scorching  simoom  that 
sweeps  over  the  plain,  leaving  the  earth  over  which 
it  trails  a  crisp  and  a  cinder;  and  that  appalling 
plague  that  visits  some  great  city,  dragging  its  slain 
to  the  sepulcher  by  thousands:  did  not  Satan  pre- 
side at  their  birth,  and  give  them  all  their  fury, 
direct  their  desolating  track,  and  call  them  back  like 
hell-hounds  from  the  chase,  only  at  the  bidding  of 
the  Almighty?  And  what  means  that  wild  alarm 
that  seizes  the  sons  of  men  when  the  hurricane  pre- 
sents its  wrathful  brow,  when  the  earth  rocks  under 
foot,  when  the  lightning  shoots  along  the  sky,  and 
when  the  awful  thunder  utters  its  voice  ?  Comes  it 
not  from  the  consciousness  that  the  fiend  has  slipped 
his  chain,  that  the  very  spirit  of  evil  is  abroad  ?  *  .  .  . 
*  When  we  see  this  malignant  foe,  traveling  through 
space  with  the  rapidity  of  thought,  putting  on  the 
disguise  of  an  angel,  breathing  pestilence  and  plague 
upon  whole  districts,  driving  the  tornado  across  seas 
and  continents,  hurling  frightful  fire-balls  from 
heaven,  and  smiting  the  bones  of  men  with  disease, 
cutting  the  cords  of  life  and  hurling  men  into  the 
abyss  of  eternity,'  we  shudder  at  a  power  second 
only  to  Omnipotence." 

Three  wonders  here!  First,  it  is  a  marvelous 
wonder  that  a  man  who  had  the  wisdom  to  collate 
and  tabulate  such  an  array  of  facts  touching  the 
crimes  which  curse  our  humanity  and  dishonor  God, 


360  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

and  then  to  record  ''  the  footprints  of  Satan"  for 
the  good  of  our  race,  should  have  marred  that  beau- 
tiful work  with  a  doctrine  which,  if  it  does  not  con- 
tradict, at  least  ignores,  all  science,  by  putting 
Satan,  who  is  not  supposed  to  work  by  any  system- 
atic rule,  largely  in  control  of  the  physical  universe ! 
It  is  only  in  the  emergency  of  saving  a  relic  out  of 
the  awful  wreck  that  the  Almighty  interposes  to 
"  call  back  the  hell-hounds  from  their  chase."  What 
a  reflection  upon  the  moral  character  of  the  All- 
Father,  and  how  absolutely  irreconcilable  to  all  the 
known  facts  of  science  ! 

Second,  it  is  a  still  greater  wonder  that  a  doc- 
trine which  is  clearly  traceable  to  the  darkest  ages 
of  pagan  worship  should  have  been  incorporated, 
through  the  influences  of  a  degrading  superstition, 
into  a  religion  which  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  the 
religion  of  the  highest  intelligence  and  common- 
sense. 

The  Parsee  fire- worshipers  "believed  that  from 
eternity  there  existed  two  beings,  Ormuzd  and 
Ahriman.  To  Ormuzd  they  attributed  the  creation 
of  all  good  beings,  and  to  Ahriman  the  creation  of 
all  evil  beings.  The  one  class  are  the  servants  of 
the  wicked  god,  and  the  other  of  the  good  god. 
One  is  the  author  of  all  evil,  the  other  of  all 
good." 

While  science  demonstrates  the  unity  of  the  uni- 
vers-e  and  the  consequent  unity  of  God,  yet  this  cele- 
brated   "  two-principles"    theory,  of   pagan    origin, 


IS   THE   DEVIL  A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?        361 

has  insinuated  itself  into  a  religion  which  rightfully 
claims  true  science  as  its  legitimate  handmaid. 

Finally,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  great  wonder 
of  all  that  a  doctrine  which  was  born  and  cradled 
with  the  cosmogony  of  the  darkest  age  of  heathen 
mythology — a  doctrine  as  scientifically  absurd  as  it 
is  sacrilegious  and  profane — should  have  so  popular- 
ized itself  in  this  age  of  reason  and  revelation,  and 
of  consequently  unprecedented  enlightenment  !  But 
as  the  ipse  dixit  of  dogmatism  is  rapidly  giving  way 
before  the  spirit  of  moral  heroism,  and  free  men  are 
daring  to  think  as  God  may  help  them  to  think,  we 
may  confidently  predict  that  this  doctrine  of  a  per- 
sonal monster — -an  offense  to  human  reason  and  a 
hindrance  to  the  cause  of  Christ — will  soon  be  rele- 
gated to  the  region  of  darkness  in  which  it  was 
born  and  nurtured.  That  it  is  like  the  bubble  rest- 
ing upon  the  bosom  of  a  calm  sea,  which  subsides 
at  the  touch,  will  be  seen  from  the  following  con- 
siderations: 

(a)  In  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the  foregoing  cata- 
logue of  charges  preferred  against  Satan  he  is  accused 
of  getting  up  "  the  desolating  storm,"  reason  will 
necessarily  inquire.  How  rapidly  must  the  wind 
blow  before  it  may  be  considered  as  being  in  the 
hands  of  the  Devil?  It  is  a  universally  conceded 
fact,  that  air  in  motion  is  a  necessity  of  the  nature 
of  man,  as  well  as  of  all  other  animated  beings.  All 
agree  that  this  is  a  most  wise  and  beneficent  provi- 
dence, reflecting  the  love  and  goodness  of  God.     It 


362  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

is  known,  moreover,  that  from  the  quiet  calm  to  the 
fearful  tornado  every  conceivable  degree  of  veloc- 
ity is  marked.  The  question,  therefore,  is  signifi- 
cant, At  what  particular  degree  on  this  long  scale 
between  the  calm  and  the  tornado  does  the  wind 
slip  from  the  hands  of  the  Almighty  into  those  of 
the  storm-fiend  ? 

You  say  the  question  is  ridiculous.  Certainly  it 
is  ;  but  is  it  not  a  question  legitimately  involved  in 
the  doctrine  under  review?  The  exclamation, 
therefore,  is  not  "  How  ridiculous  the  question  !" 
but  rather,  "  How  absurd  the  theory  which  logically 
leads  to  such  a  question  !"  Consistency  demands 
either,  first,  that  the  interrogation  be  answered,  or 
second,  what  is  vastly  easier  and  better,  that  the 
doctrine  which  necessarily  leads  to  such  a  question 
be  abandoned. 

ib)  If  Satan  is  to  be  charged  with  the  responsi- 
bility of  getting  up  the  desolating  storm  on  the 
land  and  the  fearful  tempest  at  sea — if  by  his 
agency ''  the  lightning  shoots  along  the  sky,  and  the 
awful  thunder  utters  its  voice,"  is  he  not  justly  en- 
titled to  be  credited  with  the  good  results?  Why 
not  ?  If,  then,  we  would  make  out  an  equitable 
account  with  the  Devil  in  the  light  of  true  philos- 
ophy, we  shall  certainly  find  that  his  credit  side  on 
the  balance-sheet  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  debits. 
And  thus,  in  the  aggregate  of  results,  we  will  be 
forced  to  conclude  that  Lucifer,  after  all,  is  only  a 
blessed  angel  in  the  garb  of  a  devil. 


IS   THE   DEVIL   A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       363 

Who  is  so  Icrnorant  as  not  to  know  that  but  for 
the  storm  at  sea  the  mighty  deep  would  soon  be- 
come an  ocean  of  stagnation,  sending  out  the  sick- 
ening miasma  of  death  to  destroy  every  h"ving 
animal  upon  the  globe?  While  "driving  the  tornado 
across  seas  and  continents"  may  leave  desolation  in 
the  track,  every  philosopher  knows  that  this  fearful 
phenomenon  is  but  an  instrumentality  in  the  hands 
of  benevolence  to  save  our  race  from  a  premature 
death.  While  the  lightning  is  but  the  Father's 
swift-winged  angel  of  mercy,  the  thunderbolt  is  only 
the  rumbling  of  his  chariot-wheels,  which  marks  the 
everlasting  going  of  his  love. 

This  is  not  a  mere  assertion,  nor  a  flight  of  ora- 
tory, but  the  conceded  truth  of  science.  The  air, 
tempest-driven  through  the  falling  rain,  together 
with  the  lightning's  fire,  is  the  divine  method  of 
purifying  the  atmosphere.  It  is  a  universal  conces- 
sion of  philosophy  that  the  storm  and  pure  healthy 
air  are  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 

{c)  Besides,  as  this  doctrine  of  demonology  main- 
tains that  Satan  is  incomprehensibly  more  wise  than 
man,  even  next  to  Omniscience,  we  should  suppose 
that  his  majesty,  having  observed  the  good  results 
of  the  tornado  for  all  these  ages,  would  certainly 
ere  this,  if  he  designed  pure  deviltry,  have  once  and 
forever  abandoned  an  enterprise  which  never  fails 
to  result  in  vastly  more  good  than  evil.  Sound 
reason  forces  us  to  one  of  two  conclusions,  either  of 
which  is  fatal  to  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  monster 


364  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

as  presiding  over  the  storm :  he  is  either  stupidly 
ignorant  of  the  good  results  of  the  tornado,  or 
else  he  works  with  a  benevolent  design  towards 
mankind.  But  Satan's  conceded  wisdom  forever 
bars  the  former  supposition,  while  to  admit  the  lat- 
ter is  to  suppose  that  the  Devil  is  no  devil  at  all. 

The  red  man  of  the  forest,  as  he  stands  in  the 
door  of  his  wigwam,  looking  out  upon  the  light- 
ning's flash  as  it  plays  upon  the  face  of  the  black- 
ened sky,  shuddering  at  the  awful  thunderbolts  of 
heaven's  artillery,  and  trembling  with  fear  as  he  gazes 
upon  the  raging  tempest  which  sweeps  over  the  earth 
and  lays  prostrate  the  tall  and  sturdy  oak,  may  be 
excused  for  supposing  that  it  is  some  great  spirit  of 
evil  riding  upon  the  winds  in  his  chariot  of  fire, 
taking  vengeance  unto  himself;  but  for  a  Christian 
philosopher,  who  must  know  that  these  are  but  the 
ways  of  the  Almighty,  established  as  his  immutable 
laws,  with  a  view  of  carrying  out  his  benevolent  pur- 
poses concerning  his  creatures — for  him  to  believe 
that  all  this  is  the  work  of  the  prince  of  devils  is 
a  riddle  which  common-sense  finds  it  difficult  to 
solve.  God's  benevolent  design  is  as  clearly  seen 
in  the  raging  tempest  as  in  the  summer's  calm. 
Under  the  light  of  Christian  civilization,  both  speak 
in  unmistakable  language  of  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  absolute  goodness  of  that  ever-presiding  Mind 
to  whom  every  intelligent  being  should  ascribe  wis- 
dom and  honor  and  glory,  and  everlasting  and  un- 
bounded dominion.     If  we  admit  that  God  is  con- 


IS   THE   DEVIL   A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       36$ 

fronted  with  a  rival  in  his  methods  of  managing  the 
material  universe,  then  we  are  forced  by  an  irresisti- 
ble logic  to  abandon  the  conclusion  that  there  is 
an  Infinite  Supervisor. 

As  this  whole  theory  of  a  personal  monster  seems 
to  break  down  at  every  touch  of  reason,  the  reader 
may  conclude  that  nothing  more  need  be  said  upon 
a  subject  that  is  so  out  of  keeping  with  all  the 
known  laws  of  nature  and  facts  of  science.  But  on 
account  of  its  popularity  we  wish  to  raise  one  other 
question,  the  answer  to  which  will  certainly  con- 
vince all  who  have  the  courage  of  their  own  convic- 
tions that  this  doctrine  is  only  a  relic  of  a  darker 
age,  and  forms  no  part  of  a  religion  which  har- 
monizes with  all  the  suggestions  of  nature. 

But  before  raising  this  final  question  we  wish  to 
premise  with  an  explanation  as  to  what  we  mean 
by  the  term  Natural  Science.  In  this  connection 
there  can  be  no  controversy,  if  we  are  only  agreed 
as  to  the  definition  of  terms.  And  it  is  hardly  pos- 
sible for  us  to  dispute  as  to  the  meaning  of  this 
term.  By  almost  universal  consent  it  signifies  a 
knowledge  of  the  methods  by  which  the  world  of  mind 
and  matter  is  controlled.  The  system  or  method  of 
controlling  the  universe  is  observed  to  be  so  abso- 
lutely uniform,  that  it  has  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  must  be  an  Infinite  Supervisor.  And 
but  for  the  uniformity  and  system  manifested  in 
God's  plan  of  managing  his  affairs,  no  such  thing  as 
science  would  be  possible.     Nor  would  any  of  his 


366  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


/ 


intelligences  know  how  to  think  or  what  to  do.  As 
the  germinal  power  of  man's  intellectuality  can  only 
be  rightly  unfolded  by  the  study  of  science,  it  be- 
comes a  necessity  that  the  universe  should  be  con- 
trolled by  a  uniform  and  changeless  method.  And 
this  necessity  is  met  in  the  fact  that  universal 
nature  is  not  only  controlled  by  an  unalterable  law, 
but  by  such  methods  as  contribute  the  "  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number"  of  God's  intelli- 
gences. And  such,  too,  is  the  complete  adaptation 
of  the  unfolding  germ  of  the  human  intellect  to  the 
discovery  of  science,  that  we  are  led  to  the  joy- 
inspiring  thought  that  man's  chief  business  for  time 
and  eternity  will  be  to  track  the  changeless  steps  of 
the  ceaseless  going  of  God's  infinite  energy.  If  we 
are  agreed  that  by  the  term  ''  Natural  Science"  we 
mean  the  knowledge  of  the  methods  by  which  the 
world  of  mind  and  matter  is  controlled,  and  if, 
further,  we  grant  that  these  modes  of  controlling 
the  universe  are  absolutely  uniform  in  their  admin- 
istration, then  we  are  prepared  to  inquire, 

{d)  Is  the  Devil  the  Author  of  Science?  To  sup- 
pose that  Satan  in  part  manages  the  material  uni- 
verse to  the  degree  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
quotation,  is  to  suppose  that  he  must  at  least  have 
had  some  hand  in  making  the  laws  by  which  it  is 
controlled.  Moreover,  in  the  council  at  which  these 
laws  were  decided  upon  there  must  have  been  a 
perfect  agreement  as  to  the  best  possible  modes  of 
operating  the  material  world.     Had  there  been  any 


IS   THE   DEVIL   A   PERSONAL   MONSTER?       367 

conflict  there  in  regard  to  this  matter,  then  absokite 
uniformity  of  administration  would  not  have  been 
estabhshed,  and  so  could  not  now  be  seen.  Had 
Satan  been  permitted  to  have  his  say  in  estabHshing 
any  of  the  laws  of  science  he  would  doubtless  have 
studied  pure  deviltry;  and  hence  uniformity,  which 
is  in  the  interest  of  man's  welfare,  would  have  been 
defeated.  His  satanic  purpose  in  managing  the 
material  world  would  have  been  to  make  consistency 
and  continuity  of  thought  and  action  an  utter  im- 
possibility to  man.  But  we  observe  no  such  irregu- 
larity in  the  management  of  our  world.  That  the 
part  which  Satan  is  alleged  to  play  is  in  perfect  keep- 
ing with  the  estabhshed  laws  of  nature  is  a  fact 
which  no  philosopher  will  deny.  The  laws  by  which 
the  tornado  is  made  to  sweep  over  the  land,  the 
tempest  to  churn  the  ocean,  and  the  thunders  to 
utter  their  voice,  are  known  to  be  the  established 
laws  of  nature  as  set  forth  by  science.  And  such  is 
the  regularity  of  administration  in  controlling  the 
storm,  that  all  sound  philosophy  agrees  that  in  this, 
as  elsewhere  throughout  the  vast  realm  of  nature, 
"  the  same  cause  will  produce  the  same  effect." 
Nor  does  intelligent  man  find  here  any  difficulty  in 
observing  the  relation  between  cause  and  effect. 

Hence,  if  we  suppose  that  the  methods  by  which 
these  phenomena  of  nature  are  controlled  are  of  the 
Devil,  then  by  so  far  we  must  conclude  that  he  was 
not  only  a  partner  in  framing  the  statutes  of  the 
material  universe,  but   that   his   copartnership   has 


368  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

utterly  failed  to  introduce  a  solitary  discordant  note 
in  the  universal  harmony. 

Thus  this  personal  monster,  when  considered  as 
having  anything  to  do  in  the  management  of  our 
world,  entirely  disappears  as  being  but  a  ghost  of 
human  imagination.  A  doctrine  which  goes  upon 
the  supposition  that  Satan  had  anything  to  do  in  es- 
tablishing the  laws  of  science  will,  if  allowed  the  bene- 
fit of  its  own  thinking,  inevitably  lead  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  Lucifer's  fall  not  only  turned  heaven  into 
a  temporary  pandemonium,  but  so  disconcerted  the 
Almighty  that,  with  a  view  to  saving  a  remnant 
from  the  wreck,  he  entered  into  a  compromise  and 
copartnership  with  Satan  as  to  the  future  modes  of 
governing  the  world.  Can  we  conceive  of  a  doctrine 
more  dishonoring  to  God  than  that  which  goes  upon 
the  supposition  that  the  Almighty  was  in  league 
with  a  Satanic  conspiracy  to  destroy  all  that  is 
beautiful  and  lovely  in  this  sublunary  world  ? 

That  this  superstitious  darkness  may  be  more 
visible  and  its  consequent  confusion  worse  con- 
founded, we  now  turn  to  consider  a  theory  of  de- 
monology  which  seems  not  only  to  be  in  perfect 
keeping  with  good  sense  and  sound  reason,  but  to 
reflect  all  honor  upon  the  one  presiding  Mind,  whose 
infinite  energies,  without  a  rival,  control  his  bound- 
less universe  with  a  view  to  his  own  glory  and  the 
good  of  all  created  intelligences.  A  careful  reading 
and  an  honorable  criticism  of  the  following  section 
will  be  expected  of  the  candid  thinker.     Truth  de- 


IS   THE  DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?         369 

mands  nothing  more :  it  should  certainly  have 
nothing  less.  From  the  foregoing  it  must  be  ob- 
vious to  every  thoughtful  and  unbiased  mind  that 
the  devil  is  not  merely  a  "  ghost  of  human  imagina- 
tion/' much  less  a  "  personal  monster  of  horrid 
form."  The  question  therefore  recurs,  What  is 
the  Devil? 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

IS  THE  DEVIL  IN  HUMAN  NATURE? 

Is  he  a  principle  incorporated  in  the  nature  of  man  and  the  provi- 
dences of  God  for  benevolent  purposes? — Divine  approval  or 
disapproval  involves  the  necessity  of  human  freedom. — Good 
and  evil  must  be  placed  before  man. — Highest  type  of  manhood 
evolved  only  by  contact  with  evil  environment. — This  the  Bibli- 
cal teaching. 

If  it  can  be  shown,  First,  that  the  divine  approval 
or  disapproval  becomes  a  possibility  only  in  the  fact 
that  man  has  a  personal  right  to  choose  between 
good  and  evil ;  and, 

Secondly,  that  in  the  absence  of  evil  environments 
personal  choice  would  bo  impossible;  and, 

Thirdly,  that  the  germinal  faculties  of  man*s  moral 
nature  can  only  be  unfolded  and  evolved  into  the 
highest  type  of  manhood  by  successfully  grappling 
with  moral  difficulties;  and, 

Fourthly,  if  the  teachings  of  Scripture  are  not 
only  in  harmony  with  the  three  foresroing  proposi- 
24 


370  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

tions,  but  beautifully  illustrate  their  truth — then  we 
are  necessarily  led  to  the  logical  conclusion  that 
what  we  call  "  devil "  is  only  a  principle  established  in 
the  nature  of  the  soul  and  in  divine  providence,  with 
a  view  to  the  glory  of  God  and  a  benevolent  design 
to  the  highest  good  of  man.  The  vexed  question  of 
demonology  will  be  settled  once  and  forever,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  if,  in  the  light  of  "  reason  and  revela- 
tion," the  above  suggestions  are  found  to  be  in 
keeping  with  the  facts  of  history  as  founded  upon 
man's  observation  and  experience. 

In  seeking  the  solution  of  these  several  proposi- 
tions we  are  not  at  liberty  to  go  behind  them  and 
raise  the  question,  **  Why  has  God  constructed  the 
human  soul  so  as  to  suspend  its  highest  good  upon 
the  contingency  of  its  right  choosing  between  good 
and  evil  ?  We  assume,  as  fundamental  to  the  fore- 
going, that  the  soul  of  man  has  been  fashioned  after 
the  best  pattern  that  Infinite  Wisdom  could  devise. 
The  creature  has  no  right  to  inquire  of  the  Creator, 
Why  hast  thou  formed  me  thus  ?  but  rather, 
What  are  the  divine  methods  by  which  the  germs 
of  my  spiritual  nature  can  be  evolved  into  their 
highest  possible  glory?  Assuming,  therefore,  that 
the  germs  of  man's  intellectuality,  morality,  and  re- 
ligion, however  tainted  by  sin,  are  nevertheless 
substantially,  in  their  nature,  what  they  were  when 
God  pronounced  them  very  good,  we  shall  proceed 
to  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  foregoing  propositions. 


IS  THE  DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  37 1 


SECTION  (l). 

Divine  approval  or  disapproval  involves  the  necessity 
of  human  freedom. 

Whatever  may  be  our  theology,  it  cannot  be  said 
in  reason  that  the  divine  approval  or  disapproval 
can  rest  upon  the  individual  whose  life  is  the  result 
of  necessity.  There  would  be  just  as  much  reason 
in  conferring  honors  upon  the  sun  because  of  his 
shining  as  in  pronouncing  the  "Well  done"  upon  a 
man  for  cherishing  certain  thoughts,  uttering  certain 
words,  and  faithfully  doing  certain  works,  when 
thinking,  speaking,  or  doing  anything  else  was  an 
impossibility. 

The  sun  flies  along  his  trackless  way  because  of  a 
power  over  which  he  has  no  control,  and  pours  his 
rays  of  light  and  heat  over  all  worlds  because  he 
can  do  nothing  else.  And  under  the  light  of  Chris- 
tian civilization  the  very  thought  of  conferring  any 
praise  or  honor  upon  the  sun  would  be  regarded  as 
sacrilegious.  The  "  heathen  in  his  blindness"  may 
be  excused  for  worshiping  the  sun  ;  but  the  Chris- 
tian philosopher  ascribes  all  the  glory  to  Him  who 
created  the  sun,  and  whose  arm  of  power  guides  the 
stars  in  their  rapid  flight  along  their  trackless  way, 
and  the  throbbing  of  whose  heart  of  infinite  energy 
pulsates  the  universe.  As  the  sun  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  an  omnipotent  power  over  which  he  has  no 


372  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

restraint,  he  is  certainly  not  the  subject  of  praise 
for  shining  or  of  censure  for  not  shining.  Praise 
and  censure  belong  to  the  Being  whose  wisdom  and 
power  control  his  actions. 

So,  likewise,  if  man  has  not  the  right  or  ability  to 
choose  between  good  and  evil,  then  it  must  be 
equally  obvious  that  he  is  neither  praiseworthy  nor 
blameworthy.  Having  no  right  of  choice,  the 
praise  or  blame  must  of  necessity  attach  to  the 
power  which  controls  his  action.  No  earthly  parent 
of  common  intelligence  and  good  moral  character 
would  even  think  of  conferring  praise  upon  a  son 
who  had  been  forced  to  do  a  good  deed — much  less 
would  he  think  of  condemning  him  for  doing  that 
which  he  was  irresistibly  compelled  to  do.  Can  we 
imagine,  then,  as  the  remotest  possibility,  that  an 
infinitely  wise  Father,  in  passing  judgment  upon  his 
earthly  children,  would  pronounce  upon  one  "  bless- 
ing and  honor,"  and  upon  another  "  Depart,  ye 
cursed,"  when  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  had 
the  right  nor  power  to  choose  otherwise  than  they 
did,  but  had  done  simply  what,  by  the  necessity  of 
their  nature,  they  were  compelled  to  do?  If  man 
is  only  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  God  for  good  or  of  the 
Devil  for  evil,  then  to  the  former  belongs  the  praise 
and  to  the  latter  the  censure  ;  and  man  has  no  part 
nor  lot  in  the  matter  of  commendation  nor  of  con- 
demnation. 

Moreover,  in  the  absence  of  the  right  and  power 
of  choice,  the  doctrine  of  a  "judgment  to  come," 


IS   THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  373 

which  is  world-wide  and  coeval  with  our  race,  must 
be  regarded  as  nothing  but  a  fabulous  superstition. 
The  very   thought   of  the   Creator's  judging  the 
creature  for  a  life  which  the  very  necessities  of  his 
nature  compel   him  to  live,   is  a  moral  absurdity. 
The   thought  of  the  finite  being  judged   and   con- 
demned by  the  Infinite  for  having  lived  a  life  of  sin, 
involves  the  necessity  of  his  having  had  the  right 
and  power  of  choosing  between  "  good  and   evil." 
And  still  more,  punishment  for   sin,  with   no   right 
nor  power  to  do  otherwise  than   sin,  would  be  an 
injustice    that  would    disgrace    any    earthly  court. 
Human  laws  require  obedience  only  from  those  who 
arc  supposed   to   know  right  from  wrong  and  who 
are   not   compelled    by   another   to    do    otherwise. 
Can  we  imagine  that  infinite  wisdom  and  boundless 
love  would  establish  a  divine  government  to  punish 
man  for  doing  wrong,  when  the  right  of  choosing 
between  good  and  evil  had  never  been  conferred 
upon  him  ?     Just  as  well  condemn  the  moon  for  not 
shinine  after  the  sun  had  withdrawn  his  light,  and 
the  very  darkness  of  her  nature  had  made  it  impos- 
sible for  her  to  shine,  as  to  condemn  a  man  for  not 
living  a  life  of  virtue,  when,  from  a  necessity  of  his 
constitution,  he  had  neither  the  right  nor  the  power 
to  choose  a  life  of  virtue. 

There  can  be  no  justice  in  rewards  and  punishments 
where  the  right  of  choice  has  been  witJiheld.  But 
that  rewards  and  punishments  belong  to  the  admin- 
istration of  God's  divine  government  is  a  fact  known 


374  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

in  the  experience  of  every  sane  mind.  Whatever 
else  we  may  question,  there  can  be  no  doubt  nor 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  fact  that  a  sense  of 
right-doing  brings  the  reward  of  contentment  and 
satisfaction  with  the  certainty  of  cause  and  effect — 
while  the  violation  of  our  sense  of  right  is  with  equal 
certainty  attended  with  unrest  and  dissatisfaction. 

To  suppose,  therefore,  as  we  must,  that  divine 
commendation  rests  upon  man  for  right-doing  and 
condemnation  for  wrong-doing ;  and  to  suppose, 
further,  as  facts  of  experience  demonstrate,  that 
man  is  rewarded  for  a  life  of  virtue  and  punished 
for  a  life  of  sin,  and  all  this  when  he  has  neither 
the  right  nor  power  to  choose  between  virtue  and 
vice,  is  to  suppose  that  the  moral  universe  is  not 
only  constructed  upon  a  lie,  but  that  heaven's  court 
has  perpetrated  an  injustice  upon  humanity  which 
would  disgrace  an  earthly  tribunal  of  even  pagan 
origin. 

SECTION  (ll). 

Good  and  evil  must  he  placed  before  man. 

Having  clearly  shown,  as  it  seems  to  us,  that  the 
divine  approval  or  disapproval  necessarily  involves 
man's  personal  ability  to  choose  between  right  and 
wrong,  it  follows  as  a  necessary  sequence  that  man 
must  have  both  good  and  evil  placed  before  him. 
If  man's  condemnation  or  commendation  involves 
the  right  of  choice,  it  follows  that,  in  the  economy 


IS  THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  375 

of  God's  moral  universe,  the  existence  of  abstract 
evil  was  a  necessity,  as  was  that  of  absolute  good. 
That  abstract  evil  was  a  necessity,  may  be  seen  from 
two  considerations : 

First,  it  was  incorporated  in  the  moral  universe 
by  the  hand  of  the  Creator.  The  tree  of  temptation 
in  the  garden  of  Eden  was  there  for  a  wise  purpose, 
else  Infinite  Wisdom  would  not  have  put  it  there. 
The  right  and  the  necessity  of  personal  choice  was 
made  a  possibility  with  our  first  parents  in  the  fact 
that  our  heavenly  Father  placed  in  the  garden  of 
Eden  "  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil," 
with  the  prohibition  from  partaking  of  it,  but  with 
the  power  of  partaking  or  not  partaking.  Had  not 
the  tree  of  temptation,  which  made  sin  a  possibility, 
been  a  necessity  in  the  economy  of  God's  moral 
universe,  we  must  conclude  that  Infinite  Wisdom 
and  Benevolence  would  have  planned  it  otherwise. 
The  divine  appointment  of  that  tree  and  the  pur- 
pose of  its  appointment  forever  dispose  of  the 
question  of  its  utility  and  absolute  necessity.  And 
as  Infinite  Wisdom  has  caused  these  trees  of  tempta- 
tion to  grow,  not  only  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  but 
wherever  man  has  existed,  it  is  conclusive  to  all  who 
believe  in  a  God  of  infinite  goodness  that  they  exist 
for  a  benevolent  purpose. 

But,  secondly,  God's  benevolent  design  is  not  only 
to  be  clearly  recognized  in  the  fact  that  he  has 
placed  man  in  the  midst  of  these  wicked  environ- 
ments, but  also  in  the  glorious  results  that  come  of 


3/6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

evil,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  section.  Meantime 
let  us  bear  in  mind  the  points  already  passed: 
namely,  first,  that  commendation  or  condemnation, 
rewards  or  punishments,  can  only  be  awarded  where 
the  right  and  power  of  choice  has  been  conferred  ; 
and  that  in  the  absence  of  the  tree  of  temptation 
choice  would  have  been  an  impossibility. 

SECTION  (ill). 

TJie  germinal  faculties  of  mans  moral  and  spiritual 
nature  cait  only  be  evolved  into  the  highest  type  of 
manhood  by  coming  in  contact  with  evil  environ- 
ments. 

That  the  various  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are 
germinal  in  their  nature  none  can  dispute.  Nor  can 
it  be  denied  that  these  germs  are  to  be  developed 
and  strengthened  by  contending  with  difficulties  in 
the  open  field  of  combat.  "Irrepressible  conflict" 
is  the  price  of  developed  and  strengthened  manhood 
in  all  its  phases.  All  analogy,  observation,  and  ex- 
perience unite  in  testifying  to  the  fact  that  God's 
method  of  making  a  full-grown  man  is  by  the  burn- 
ing fire  of  difficulty.  The  goal  of  the  highest  des- 
tiny can  only  be  reached  by  the  way  of  the  heated 
furnace.  That  the  **  tree  of  temptation"  or  **  devil 
of  difficulty"  is  a  necessity  of  man's  spiritual  and 
moral  nature  is  clearly  indicated  by  all  the  analogies 
of  our  being. 

{a)  There  can  be  tio  growth  and  strength  of  body 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  377 

without  physical  strivings.  The  child  may  be  born 
with  a  body  perfect  in  all  its  parts.  It  may  faith- 
fully observe  every  other  law  of  its  physical  being, 
and  yet  if  the  law  of  labor  or  exercise  be  not  kept, 
imbecility  and  premature  death  will  be  the  penalty. 
In  virtue  of  the  good  results,  labor — stern  and  in- 
flexible labor — may  be  regarded  as  a  benevolent 
devil.  Alas  !  too  often  men  are  overcome  by  this 
devil,  and  are  thus  led  into  the  sloth  which  induces 
feebleness  and  often  results  in  untimely  death. 

Nor  can  any  one  take  out  license  against  this  law 
of    physical    conflict   by  faithfully  observing  other 
laws  of  their  being.     Even  the  Gospel  minister,  who 
is  faithfully  devoted  to  his  high  calling,  may  grow 
pale,  sicken    and  die  ;  and  the  religious  press  may 
publish  abroad  that  he  died  of  overwork,  when,  if  the 
naked  truth  had  .been  told,  it  would  have  been  said 
that   he  committed   suicide  by  refusing  to  grapple 
with  physical  difficulties.     What  he  needed  was  to  ; 
overcome  the  temptation  to  remain  in  his  room  of  \ 
study,  and  to  go  forth  and  m.eet  the  devil  of  diffi-  / 
culty  in  another  field  of  combat. 

We  are  not  to  be  understood,  however,  as  sug- 
gesting that  all  the  laws  of  our  being  are  equally 
important  to  be  understood  and  obeyed,  much  less 
that  the  evil  consequences  attending  the  violation 
of  physical  laws  are  to  be  compared  with  those 
which  come  because  of  disobedience  to  moral  law. 
We  only  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  growth 
and  strength  of  the  body,  other  things  being  equal, 


37S  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

are  the  good  results  of  its  having  successfully  grap- 
pled with  physical  difidculties,  and  that  these  diffi- 
culties, which  must  be  met  and  overcome  by  the 
body,  are  quite  analogous  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
difficulties  which  must  be  met  and  overcome  by 
the  soul. 

Moreover,  that  the  devil  of  the  one  is  much  like 
the  devil  of  the  other,  and  that  both  work  with  a 
benevolent  design,  may  be  clearly  seen  in  the  good 
results.  Such  is  the  nature  of  our  physical  organ- 
ism, that  not  only  exercise,  but  the  most  violent  con- 
flict with  physical  forces,  is  the  price  of  the  greatest 
bodily  strength.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  superior 
strength  of  the  blacksmith's  strong  right  arm.  But 
to  intensify  our  conviction  of  the  fact  that  what  we 
call  '*  devil "  in  the  moral  universe  is  nothing  less 
than  the  divine  method  of  brincrinor  out  the  hisjhest 
type  of  manhood,  may  be  further  illustrated  by 
tracing  the  same  law  in  the  analogy  of  our  mental 
being. 

{b)  In  the  absence  of  mental  conflict  there  could  be 
no  intellectual  development.  But  for  the  devil  of  dif- 
ficulty which  meets  man  at  every  effort  that  he  makes 
to  find  out  *'  God's  hidden  power,"  the  wrapped- 
up  power  of  intellect  would  remain  undiscovered. 
If  this  thought  can  be  maintained,  our  mental  con- 
flicts in  the  process  of  thinking  must  be  regarded  as 
an  angel  in  the  garb,  it  may  be,  of  a  devil.  Let  it 
be  observed,  \.\\q\\,  first,  that  every  native  faculty  of 
the  mind,  whether  of  intellectuality,  sociality,  moral- 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  379 

ity,  or  religiosity,  is  embryonic  in  its  nature.  Such 
is  the  secrecy  of  infinite  skill,  that  the  new-born 
babe  discovers  to  us  none  of  these  hidden  powers. 
Yet  they  are  there  with  a  potency  inwrapped,  the 
measure  of  which  is  beyond  human  discovery. 
Who  can  set  limits  to  the  soul's  native  possibilities? 

Secondly,  these  germs  of  hidden  power  can  only 
be  evolved  into  their  highest  excellence  in  the  use 
of  the  means  which  Infinite  Wisdom  has  ordained 
for  their  unfolding.  Man's  mission  on  earth  is  to 
find  out  these  divine  methods,  and  to  bring  himself 
into  harmony  with  their  administration.  And  if 
through  indifference  or  stupidity  he  fails  to  find  out 
God's  ordained  means  of  development  and  glory, 
but  substitutes  those  of  his  own  foolish  imagina- 
tion, then  at  best  he  can  only  hope  to  be  evolved 
into  an  imbecile  or  a  monstrosity.  The  infinite 
Creator's  ideal  man  will  never  be  forthcoming. 

For  example  :  the  grain  contains  a  germ  in  which 
is  inwrapped  the  stalk,  the  blade,  and  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear.  God's  ordained  means  for  the  unfolding 
of  this  germ  are  earth,  air,  sunshine,  and  the  genial 
rain.  Now  if  the  germ  be  perfect,  and  these  means 
faithfully  applied  in  their  right  proportions,  the 
divine  purpose  will  become  an  accomplished  fact. 
But  if  through  ignorance,  sloth,  or  otherwise,  God's 
miCthods  be  not  observed,  it  is  barely  possible  that 
man's  artificial  means  may  bring  out  the  sickly 
stalk  and  blade;  but  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  for 
which  both  the  stalk  and  blade  were    made,  does 


38o  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

not  appear.  So  we  should  be  deeply  impressed 
with  the  analogical  as  well  as  the  philosophical 
fact  that  these  germinal  faculties  of  the  mind  can 
only  be  evolved  into  the  highest  type  of  manhood 
by  being  trained  in  perfect  accordance  with  God's 
ordained  methods  of  growth.  He  that  would  make 
life  a  grand  success,  death  a  triumphant  victory,  and 
heaven  a  glorious  reality  must  consent  to  the  fact 
that  his  chief  business  on  earth  is,  by  persistent 
strivings,  to  bring  himself  into  perfect  harmony 
with  the  administration  of  heaven's  plan  of  bringing 
him  out  into  the  full  stature  of  a  perfect  man. 
God's  method  of  making  a  symmetrical  and  per- 
fect man  ever  was,  is  now,  and  we  are  led  to 
believe  ever  will  be  the  same.  Christ's  coming  was 
not  to  alter  that  method,  but  rather  to  make  the 
way  of  salvation  plain.  Men  were  always  saved  as 
they  are  now,  by  being  brought  into  harmony  with 
the  laws  of  their  being.  The  best  evidence  of  the 
divine  origin  of  Christianity  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  its  laws  are  found  to  be  the  counterpart  of  the 
soul's  necessities.  Christianity  does  nothing  less, 
it  could  do  nothing  more,  than  to  discover  to  man 
his  native  powers  of  "  faith,  hope  and  love,"  and 
point  out  the  way  by  which  these  germs  of  soul 
may  be  evolved  into  their  grandest  possibility. 

And  the  philosophy  of  experience,  as  well  as  the 
teaching  of  Scripture,  declares  in  unmistakable 
voice  that  this  way  leads  *'  through  great  tribula- 
tion."   That  this  is  true  of  man's  intellectual  faculty 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN    HUMAN   NATURE?  38 1 

there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  man  who  would  ascend 
the  rugged  mountain  of  science  and  stand  upon  its 
summit  of  intellectual  glory  must  consent  to  chisel 
out  of  its  rocky  sides  every  niche  into  which  he 
places  his  struggling  feet.  The  devil  of  difificulty 
must  be  met  and  vanquished  at  every  ascending 
step.  And  the  greater  the  difficulty  overcome,  the 
greater  will  be  the  mental  strength  obtained  by  the 
victory.  Show  us  the  man  who  is  above  all,  and 
whos^  intellectual  caliber  is  without  a  peer,  and  we 
will  point  you  to  a  man  who  has  come  up  through 
great  tribulation,  and  has  washed  his  robes  in  the 
blood  of  intellectual  warfare.  He  that  attempts  to 
ascend  the  hill  of  science  without  struggling,  must  be 
content  with  but  little  additional  strength  of  mind. 

As  the  unfolding  of  this  intellectual  germ  seems 
to  be  the  ulterior  purpose  of  God,  and  as  mental 
struggling  is  the  obvious  method  by  which  this  end 
can  be  obtained,  we  can  readily  see  the  Father's 
benevolent  design  concerning  man,  even  in  the 
burning  furnace  of  mental  conflict. 

And  if  we  reason  logically  from  what  we  know  to 
what  we  do  not  know,  we  must  conclude  that  the 
conflict  between  the  world  of  mind  and  the  world  of 
truth  is  endless  and  irrepressible.  While  the  uni- 
verse of  thought  is  day  by  day  gaining  new  victo- 
ries on  its  field  of  combat  with  science,  the  scope  of 
new  truth  to  be  discovered  can  only  be  measured 
by  the  ceaseless  energies  of  infinite  skill.  And  as 
Qod's  benevolent  design  may  be  clearly  seen  in  the 


382  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

conflict  between  the  world  of  mind  and  that  of 
truth,  we  may  readily  conclude  that  the  same  divine 
method  will  be  continued  in  the  world  to  come. 
The  irrepressible  conflict  will  go  on ;  and  moreover 
we  must  conclude  that  difficulty  in  finding  out  the 
divine  methods  will  remain  a  necessity  of  the  soul's 
being,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  in  any  world, 
unless  its  constitution  and  mission  be  entirely 
changed. 


SECTION  (IV). 

The  Scriptures  accord  with  this  view. 

Nor  does  the  Bible  lead  to  any  other  conclusion. 
Revelation  only  comes  to  us  with  the  additional 
thought  that  heaven  will  exclude  the  possibility  of 
defeat  and  worriment  in  our  ceaseless  efforts  to  find 
out  the  ways  of  God.  In  heaven  the  conflict  may  go 
on,  but  it  will  be  without  fatigue  and  mishaps  or 
the  sadness  of  disappointed  expectation.  While 
there  is  nothing  to  hurt  or  harm  in  God's  holy 
mountain,  we  are  not  to  conclude  that  it  is  a  place 
of  sloth  or  indifference.  To  suppose  that  heaven 
is  a  ''  great  white  throne"  upon  which  is  seated  the 
Infinite,  in  whose  holy  presence  we  are  to  strike  up 
a  ceaseless  and  monotonous  song  of  praise  over  the 
little  that  we  have  learned  of  the  ways  and  works  of 
God,  is  to  contradict  the  soul's  experience,  and  is 
as  false  in  philosophy  as  it  is   nonsensical  in  Biblical 


IS   THE   DEVIL  IN    HUMAN    NATURE  ?  383 

interpretation.  If  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
were  to  stop  with  man  at  the  age  of  forty,  and  from 
that  until  eighty  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  brood 
over  and  over  again  the  truth  which  he  had  ob- 
tained during  the  first  half  of  his  life,  we  can  readily 
imagine  that  the  very  monotony  of  such  reflection 
would  make  existence  an  intolerable  burden. 

It  is  not  what  we  have  learned,  but  rather  what  we 
are  learning  and  hope  to  learn,  that  gives  us  our  best 
earthly  heaven.  It  is  thus  that  God  would  entice 
us  to  leave  the  things  which  are  behind  and  aspire 
after  those  things  which  are  ahead  and  above.  The 
Father  grants  to  the  soul  its  richest  experience,  not 
so  much  in  its  reflections  over  victories  already  won 
as  in  its  successful  grappling  with  the  difficulties 
which  stand  in  the  way  of  its  thinking.  Unless, 
therefore,  the  mind  be  wholly  changed  in  its  nature 
and  mission  from  what  it  is  in  this  life,  we  may  be- 
lieve that,  in  the  final  home  of  the  soul,  its  heaven 
will  consist  in  its  p^oincr  on  to  know  more  and  more 
of  the  ways  and  works  of  its  Almighty  Father.  The 
rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God  is  not  a 
cessation  from  labor,  but  rather  a  complete  relief 
from  vexatious  toil  and  defeat.  Judging  from  our 
present  experience,  heaven,  however  beautiful,  with 
no  new  discoveries,  would  soon  become  so  monoto- 
nous that  it  would  only  be  an  insupportable  unrest. 

But  further,  to  suppose  that  heaven  is  a  place  of 
mental  inactivity,  or  even  of  undiversified  song  of 
praise  over  the  little  that  we  may  have  acquired,  is 


384  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

not  only  contrary  to  the  soul's  richest  experience  in 
this  life,  but  it  contradicts  all  the  known  facts  of 
philosophy,  whether  they  relate  to  the  character  of 
God  or  to  the  nature  of  the  human  mind.  That  the 
Creator  is  a  being  of  infinite  energy  and  ceaseless 
activity  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  creation  is  going 
on  now  as  ever  before.  Whatever  else  we  may 
doubt,  we  cannot  call  in  question  the  fact  that, 
while  old  worlds  are  going  out  of  existence,  new 
ones  are  coming  to  take  their  place.  When  a  ma- 
terial world  has  fully  played  the  part  for  which  it 
was  made  and  can  no  longer  answer  the  design  of 
its  creation,  it  is  then,  by  the  hand  of  Infinite  Wis- 
dom and  Power,  transmuted  and  fashioned  into  an- 
other, and  we  may  readily  believe  a  better,  or- 
ganism. 

Our  earth,  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  was  mil- 
lions of  years  being  prepared  for  the  coming  of 
man.  And  though  vast  wealth  was  laid  up  in  store 
for  his  coming,  yet,  during  these  thousands  of  years 
of  occupancy,  much  of  these  mines  of  wealth  have 
been  explored  and  consumed :  and  hence  we  are 
led  to  conclude  that,  when  all  these  available  re-  - 
sources  of  which  its  constitution  is  capable  have 
been  exhausted,  as  exhausted  they  will  be,  then,  at 
the  hand  of  the  same  eternal  agency  that  formed  it, 
our  world  will  not  only  make  its  contribution  to 
mutability,  but  will  be  transmuted  into  a  "new 
heaven  and  a  new  earth." 

As    God    is  a  being  of   unremitting   activity    in 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN  HUMAN   NATURE?         385 

the  creation  of  new  worlds,  man  will  have  employ- 
ment enough  for  time  and  eternity  in  finding  out 
those  new  worlds  and  the  divine  methods  by  which 
they  are  to  be  controlled.  That  the  human  mind 
has  an  infinite  capacity  for  such  discovery  may  be 
seen  in  the  facts  of  its  nature.  As  science  is  but 
the  rumblings  of  God's  chariot-wheels,  which  mark 
his  everlasting  goings,  so  it  will  be  man's  mission, 
now  and  forever,  to  follow  on  by  never-ending  and 
joyous  strivings  to  know  God  better  and  better,  and 
love  him  more  and  more.  And  as  action  and  reac- 
tion are  equal,  not  only  in  the  mechanical  but  in 
the  moral  universe  as  well,  we  are  led  to  believe  that 
as  the  mind,  in  its  ceaseless  efforts  to  find  out  the 
ways  of  the  Almighty,  discovers  new  truth  it  will 
in  like  degree  evolve  its  inwrapped  possibilities  into 
new  strength  and  perfection.  The  development  of 
the  mind  is  equaled  only  by  its  discovery  of  truth. 
So  it  has  been,  is  now,  and  ever  will  be. 

God's  benevolent  design  concerning  man  is  seen 
again  in  the  fact  that  he  has  wisely  adapted  truth 
to  the  mind's  various  degrees  of  development.  The 
infant  mind  is  met  at  the  threshold  of  its  being 
with  facts  easily  understood.  Its  struggling  with 
little  truth  gives  it  increased  capacity  to  successfully 
overcome  greater  difficulties.  And  thus  the  de- 
velopment of  the  mind  and  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge go  hand  in  hand,  until  that  once  seemingly  in- 
significant soul  stands  amid  the  stars,  to  compre- 
hend much  of  the  heights,  depths,  and  breadths  of 
25 


386  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

God's  material  universe.  The  universal  law  of  the 
Almighty  is  that  each  man  shall  do  his  own  think- 
ing. And  he  that  disregards  this  law  m*ust  consent 
not  only  to  remain  a  comparative  imbecile,  but  also 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  ways  and  will  of  the  great 
Father.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  future,  we 
are  assured  that  in  this  world  an  indomitable  deter- 
mination to  know  nothing  but  victory  over  the  devil 
of  mental  difficulty  is  the  price  of  knowing  God's 
hidden  power,  and  of  unfolding  the  germ  of  intel- 
lect into  its  possible  completeness.  As  that  hidden 
power  is  the  measure  of  God's  infinity,  so  the  possi- 
bilities inwrapped  in  the  human  mind  are  without 
limitation.  So  we  may  hope  to  spend  an  eternity 
in  discovering  the  one  and  developing  the  other. 

(c)  The  germinal  power  of  man's  moral  faculty  Qd.w 
only  be  unfolded  by  successfully  combating  with 
moral  difficulties.  The  question  has  been  asked, 
"Why  has  God  permitted  evil  to  exist  in  his  moral 
universe?"  We  answer,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
the  only  known,  and  we  may  well  suppose  the  only 
knowable,  method  by  which  a  perfect  man  could  be 
made.  The  nature  of  the  human  soul  makes  evil  a 
necessity.  History,  observation,  experience,  and  the 
Bible  all  unite  in  testifying  to  the  fact  that  but  for 
the  existence  of  evil  environments  a  perfectly  de- 
veloped man  would  be  an  impossibility.  These  are 
the  means  which  Infinite  Wisdom  has  devised  for 
the  unfolding  of  the  germs  of  noblest  manhood. 

As  previously  suggested,  the  creature  is  not  at 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  387 

liberty  to  inquire  of  the  Creator  "  Why  hast  thou 
formed  me  thus?"  but  rather,  **  What  are  the  meth- 
ods by  which  I  may  become  a  true  man  ?" 

We  aver  in  the  hght  of  all  the  known  facts  of  ob- 
servation, experience,  and  the  truths  of  revelation, 
that  there  can  be  no  moral  development  without 
moral  difficulties  to  contend  with,  and  there  can  be 
no  moral  difficulties  without  the  existence  of  moral 
evil.  This  devil  is  omnipresent  for  a  benevolent 
purpose. 

Hence  the  necessity  of  the  ''  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil."  This  necessity,  as  previously  sug- 
gested, is  found  not  only  in  the  fact  that  Infinite 
Wisdom  placed  it  there,  but  also  in  the  good  results 
that  come  of  it.  But  for  the  existence  of  that  tree 
in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  there  would  have  been 
r\o  moral  temptation  ;  but  for  moral  temptation  there 
could  be  no  moral  difficulties  to  encounter  ;  and  but 
for  conflict  with  moral  difficulties  there  would  have 
been  no  means  of  evolving  the  germ  of  man's  moral 
nature. 

Whatever  may  be  our  theology,  these  are  the 
known  facts  of  mental  philosophy.  Though  our 
foolish  imagination  may  call  in  question  the  divine 
methods,  we  must  nevertheless  agree  that  Infinite 
Wisdom  has  so  planned  it  that  the  most  perfect  man 
is  he  who  has  most  frequently  met  and  vanquished 
the  devil  of  moral  difficulty.  As  the  rich  ore  can 
only  be  brought  out  into  the  shining  gold  by  pass- 
ing through  the   crucible  of   fire,  so   the    God-like 


388  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

nature  of  man  can  only  be  evolved  into  its  possible 
glory  by  passing  through  the  hot  furnace  of  moral 
conflict. 

The  tree  of  temptation  was  not  peculiar  to  Adam 
and  Eve ;  it  belongs  to  man  as  man  the  wide  world 
over.  God  in  his  wisdom  and  benevolence  has  not 
only  caused  the  ''forbidden  fruit"  to  grow  "in  the 
midst  of  the  garden"  of  Eden,  but  in  the  garden  of 
every  human  household.  That  tempting  fruit  was 
a  necessity  of  man's  nature  then  and  now,  there  and 
everywhere.  And  to  suppose  that  Adam  and  his 
posterity  could  have  answered  the  design  of  their 
creation  without  the  privilege  of  choosing  between 
good  and  evil,  though  involving  the  possibility  of 
wretchedness  and  ruin,  is  to  suppose  that  Divine 
Providence  in  creation  has  made  a  sublime  mistake. 
As  there  w^as  but  one  Infinite  Supervisor,  we  must 
believe  that  the  event  of  the  Devil's  approaching 
Eve  to  tempt  her  must  have  been  known  to  God 
as  the  best  and  wisest  thing  to  be  done.  If  not, 
then  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
either  an  ignorant  or  an  unjust  Providence  that  per- 
mitted such  an  event. 

Moreover,  to  suppose  that  "  Adam's  fall "  en- 
tailed a  legacy  upon  his  posterity  which  was  no 
part  of  the  original  endowment  is  a  most  gratuitous 
assumption.  So  far  as  the  biography  of  Adam  has 
come  down  to  us,  it  appears  that  he  sinned  at  the 
first  opportunity.  Certainly  his  fall  did  not  entail 
upon  his  children  a  greater  degree  of  "  depravity" 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  389 

than  was  possessed  by  their  progenitor.  If  the  par- 
ent yielded  to  the  first  temptation,  is  it  possible  for 
his  offspring  to  do  worse?  If  we  base  our  conclu- 
sion upon  the  facts  of  history,  observation,  and  ex- 
perience, rather  than  on  superstition,  we  must  say 
that  Adam  was  placed  at  disadvantage.  During  his 
childish  innocence  he  had  no  advantages  of  observa- 
tion and  experience  as  to  the  wretched  results  of 
violating  the  laws  of  God,  nor  had  he  the  blessed 
experience  of  joy  and  new  moral  strength,  which 
come  as  the  natural  result  of  successfully  overcom- 
ing the  "temptation  of  the  devil." 

While  the  privilege  of  choosing  between  good  and 
evil  presents  man  with  the  only  opportunity  of  en- 
joying the  greatest  blessing  of  which  he  is  capable, 
and  the  only  possibility  of  receiving  the  divine  ap- 
probation, it  also  offers  him  the  privilege  of  bringing 
upon  himself  the  "  damnation  of  hell,"  and  the 
righteous  condemnation  of  a  just  God.  Hence, 
though  the  privilege  of  grappling  with  evil  is  a 
necessity  of  our  being  which  may  be  attended  with 
the  grandest  possible  results  if  by  the  grace  of  God 
we  are  victorious  in  the  moral  conflict,  still  if  we  are 
defeated  on  the  field  of  combat  we  shall  realize  by 
sad  experience  that  sin  wrongs  the  soul,  brings 
down  upon  it  the  curse  of  God,  and,  if  persisted  in, 
must  bring  death.  As  temptation  brings  the  soul 
into  healthy  action,  it  may,  through  victory,  be 
turned  to  good  results,  or,  through  defeat,  bring 
ruin.     Evil  environments  are  a  necessity,  but  sin  is 


390  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

an  unmitigated  curse.  A  wise  and  benevolent  prov- 
idence has  ordained  the  existence  of  moral  evil  in 
the  world  with  the  ulterior  design  of  the  greatest 
possible  good  to  man.  If  we  but  exercise  the  moral 
heroism  of  which  by  nature  and  grace  we  are  capa- 
ble, and  by  which  we  say  "get  behind  me,  Satan," 
the  moral  faculties  will  receive  new  strength,  in  the 
exercise  of  which  they  will  be  able  successfully  to 
compete  with  still  greater  temptation.  Thus  shall 
we  rise  higher  and  higher  in  the  scale  of  moral  ex- 
cellency, until  we  have  achieved  the  last  victory, 
and  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  highest  angels. 
While  moral  conflict  is  the  method  of  producing 
the  best  type  of  manhood,  we  are  not  to  conclude 
that  this  divine  providence  involves  the  necessity  of 
defeat  and  ruin.  Whatever  may  be  the  misfortunes 
of  birth  or  the  intensity  of  evil  environments,  the 
law  of  compensation  gives  each  a  chance  for  his  life. 
Where  little  is  given,  little  is  required.  "  Where  sin 
abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound."  If  in  the 
unequal  combat  we  exercise  the  will-power  which 
we  possess,  God  will  supplement  the  deficiency. 
**  Man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity."  We  too 
often  judge  from  sense,  and  hence  too  frequently 
conclude  that  moral  victory  and  consequent  happi- 
ness come  as  the  result  of  the  accidents  of  birth  and 
the  seeming  fortunes  of  life.  Whereas,  if  we  could 
look  beyond  the  material  and  penetrate  the  spiritual, 
we  would  discover  that  what  we  had  pronounced 
moral  defeat  and  consequent  misery  were  spiritual 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  39I 

victories,  and  the  best  happiness  of  which  man  is 
capable.  Each  man  for  himself — no  matter  for  his 
birth,  education,  or  wealth — must  meet  the  devil  on 
the  field  of  open  combat.  Nor  will  the  conditions 
of  life  determine  the  question  of  victory.  The 
grandest  moral  and  spiritual  victories  ever  won  by 
man  were  achieved  by  those  whose  equipments  were 
not  of  this  world.  It  may  be  said  in  truth  that  there 
is  no  disadvantage  or  evil  to  which  man  is  heir  that 
may  not  be  turned  to  his  advantage.  This  leads  to 
the  final  proposition  ;  namely, 

{d)  Satan  is  God's  instrumentality  of  developing 
man's  religious  faculty.  This  native  power  of  mind 
which  has  led  man  in  all  ages  and  countries  to  "  feel 
after"  God,  like  the  moral  and  intellectual  faculties, 
is  germinal  in  its  nature,  and  like  them  can  only  be 
evolved  into  its  possible  strength  in  the  use  of  the 
means  ordained  for  its  unfolding.  And  both  revela- 
tion and  experience  teach  us  that  the  moral  conflicts 
of  life  not  only  give  new  strength  and  vigor  to  our 
moral  nature,  but,  by  helping  us  to  a  knowledge  of 
our  own  weakness,  they  press  us  to  seek  help  from 
Him  who  is  beyond  and  above  us.  And  when,  be- 
cause of  weakness  and  ignorance,  the  soul  has  strug- 
gled in  vain  to  find  Him  whom  it  desired,  there  has 
come  a  light  as  out  of  darkness,  beaming  from  the 
face  of  Him  who  is  the  light  of  the  world  ;  and 
struggling  humanity  has  leaped  from  the  cheerless 
region  of  darkness  into  the  sunlight  of  "  faith,  hope, 
and  love."     Had  man  been  in  a   state  of  ignorant 


392  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

contentment,  without  the  buffetings  of  Satan,  he 
would  not  have  been  led  to  seek  strength  and  help 
from  Him  who  is  above  all  and  in  view  of  all.  But 
for  evil  environments  we  can  hardly  believe  that 
the  soul  would  ever  have  earnestly  and  devoutly 
sought  after  those  inspiring  and  elevating  graces  of 
"faith,  hope,  and  love."  And  yet  the  old  cate- 
chism spoke  truly  when  it  said  that  "  the  chief 
end  of  man"  was  "  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy  him 
forever."  This  statement  is  not  only  the  teaching 
of  revelation,  but  answers  to  the  highest  and  best 
experiences  of  life.  He  that  knows  nothing  of  the 
strength  and  unspeakable  joy  that  come  upon  the 
soul  because  of  its  faith  in  God,  hope  in  Christ,  and 
love  to  the  great  Father,  is  utterly  ignorant  of  man's 
richest  experience. 

These  Christian  graces  and  the  soul's  strength 
and  nobility  stand  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect,  and  are  largely  the  result  of  great  tribulation. 
To  be  assured  of  this  we  need  only  consult  the  his- 
tory of  mankind,  and  turn  our  thoughts  inwardly 
upon  the  experience  of  our  own  souls. 

Looking  back  over  the  race  of  mankind,  we  ob- 
serve that  those  who  tower  above  their  fellows  as 
the  grandest  moral  and  spiritual  heroes  the  world 
ever  saw  were  those  men  who  had  the  greatest  con- 
flict with  evil  environments.  Paul  was  of  noble 
birth,  educated,  rich,  and  honored.  But  when  these 
happy  circumstances  had  failed  to  evolve  his  moral 
and  religious  faculties  into  the  highest  type  of  man- 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  393 

hood,  he  was  providentially  called  to  pass  through 
the  devil's  school  of  tribulation.  Having  been  de- 
prived of  his  property  and  his  good  name,  beaten, 
scourged,  manacled,  and  thrust  into  prison,  he  came 
out  a  spiritual  giant  who  could  defy  the  powers  of 
earth  and  hell.  These  fearful  conflicts  had  con- 
vinced him  that  '*  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  [created  thing],  shall  be  able  to  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord."  The  '*  fightings  without  and  fears  within," 
which  we  call  Devil,  were  only  an  instrumentality  in 
the  hands  of  a  loving  Father,  to  bring  out  the  in- 
nate powers  of  his  soul.  In  the  nature  of  man, 
"  it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come ;  but  woe  to 
that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh !" 

That  Paul  regarded  these  conflicts  with  Satan  as 
blessings  in  disguise,  is  plainly  set  forth  in  the  ex. 
pression,  '*  we  glory  in  tribulations."  Then  having 
stated  this  fact  of  blessed  experience,  he  at  once 
proceeds  to  give  the  reason  for  such  an  expression  : 
*'  Knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  patience ;  and 
patience,  experience ;  and  experience,  hope :  and  hope 
maketh  not  ashamed  ;  because  the  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
is  given  unto  us."  If  these  blessed  graces  come  as 
the  legitimate  result  of  moral  conflict,  as  thus  set 
forth  by  this  prince  of  the  apostles,  who  will  venture 
to  say  that  moral  evil  is  not  a  necessity,  and  on  the 


394  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

whole  a  blessing  in  God's  moral  universe  ?  And 
who  will  fail  to  see  that  the  Devil  is  but  an  instru- 
mentality of  benevolent  design  ? 

The  Bible,  as  well  as  Christian  experience,  repre- 
sents the  Devil  as  an  intense  activity,  working 
through  the  overruling  Providence  of  God  in  the 
moral  and  spiritual  interest  of  mankind.  **  All 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  Not  some  things,  nor  even  many  things,  but 
absolutely  all  things.  Not  only  the  obviously  good 
things,  but  the  seemingly  evil  things  ;  not  only  good 
men,  but  wicked  men,  angels  and  devils,  all  work 
for  good.  Good  and  evil,  in  their  antagonisms  and 
through  their  antagonisms,  "  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God." 

The  obvious  design  of  man's  creation  was  that  he 
should  learn  to  love  his  Creator  and  bring  himself 
into  harmony  with  the  laws  of  his  being.  The  only 
discord  in  the  music  of  God's  universe  is  man  out 
of  harmony  with  the  divine  law  of  *'  love  to  God 
and  love  to  man."  When  man  is  fully  developed 
and  brought  into  perfect  concord  with  God's  law  of 
love,  then  shall  the  Devil  have  answered  the  design 
of  his  being,  and  moral  conflict  will  be  supplemented 
by  the  soul's  ceaseless  jubilee  of  victory. 

If  both  revelation  and  experience  teach  us  that 
wicked  environments  work  for  the  good  of  those 
who  are  the  spiritual  heirs  of  God,  it  is  neither  wise 
nor  Christian  to  pray  that  we  be  freed  from  moral  con- 
flict ;  but  rather  should  we  comfort  ourselves  with 


IS   THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  395 

the  thought  that  these  fearful  encounters  with  Satan 
may  bring  us  twofold  good  :  first,  pressing  us  to  the 
throne  of  heavenly  grace ;  and,  second,  giving  us  in- 
creased vigor  to  fit  us  for  still  greater  conflicts.  What 
the  soul  needs  is,  not  that  these  difficulties  be  taken 
out  of  the  way,  but  rather  that  it  receive  grace 
whereby  it  may  overcome  them,  and  thus  come  out 
of  the  smoke  and  battle  with  the  divine  blessing, 
and  go  forth  with  enlarged  capacities  to  enjoy  the 
rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 

We  may  desire  the  cessation  of  moral  hostilities ; 
but,  for  a  benevolent  reason,  God  orders  it  other- 
wise.    Paul  thrice  prayed  that  the  ''thorn  in  the 
flesh,"  which  kind  providence  had  sent  as  a  "  mes- 
senger of  Satan  to  buffet"  him,  should  be  removed. 
But  God,  who  had  ordained  it  for  a  benevolent  pur- 
pose, allowed  this  messenger   of   Satan    (whatever 
it  was)  to   continue  his  mission  of  afflictive  mercy, 
only  encouraging  Paul  to  hold  fast  in  the  conflict 
by  giving  him  the  precious  promise,  *'  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee."   It  was  the  **  buffetings  of  Satan" 
which  largely  helped  him  to  a  love  for  God  in  Christ, 
so  ardent  and  all-conquering  that  his  soul  was  fixed 
like   the   mountain  which   cannot   be  moved.     He 
says,  "  The  Holy  Spirit  witnesseth  unto  me  in  every 
city,  saying  that  bonds  and   afflictions  abide  me." 
Then   comes  a  truth   of  blessed   experience,  which 
should  be  written  and  published  abroad  in  letters 
of    gold,    namely,  '*  BUT    NONE   OF  THESE    THINGS 
MOVE  ME." 


396  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  the  proposition  that 
what  we  call  **  Satan"  or  "  devil  "  is  only  a  principle 
incorporated  in  the  nature  of  the  soul  and  the 
providences  of  God,  with  a  benevolent  design  to 
man's  highest  destiny,  may  be  thus  summed  up : 

First,  struggling  with  evil  is  the  only  known,  and 
we  may  suppose  the  only  knowable,  means  of  un- 
folding the  germinal  faculty  of  man's  moral  nature. 

Secondly,  while  man  is  endowed  with  an  instinc- 
tive disposition  which  leads  him  to  devotional  reve- 
rence to  some  being  outside  of  and  beyond  himself, 
yet  this  germinal  possibility  of  **  faith,  hope,  and 
love"  would  not  be  led  to  reach  its  highest  degree 
of  achievement  in  the  acquisition  of  these  graces  but 
for  the  "  buffetings  of  Satan." 

Thirdly,  but  for  successful  conflicts  with  the  enemy 
on  the  open  field  of  battle  man  would  not  be  worthy 
of  the  divine  honors  of  commendation, — nor  would 
he  be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  waving  the  palm 
of  victory,  and  hence  of  wearing  the  crown  of  life. 
Besides,  it  will  be  a  star  in  the  crown  of  rejoicing  to 
know  that  we  came  to  victory  through  the  battle 
and  smoke  of  great  tribulation. 

It  now  remains  for  us  to  inquire,  under  Section  IV., 
what  are  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  concerning  this 
question  of  the  principle  of  evil  as  developed  in  the 
conduct  of  the  human  race. 


IS  THE  DEVIL   IN   HUMAN  NATURE?  397 


SECTION  (V). 

Does  this  view  of  the  ^^  DcviV  correspond  with  the 
teachings  of  Scripture  ? 

The  true  interpretation  of  the  passages  bearing 
upon  the  subject  of  demonology  cannot  be  given 
without  the  aid  of  historic  criticism.  A  rule  of 
exegesis,  universally  conceded  by  Biblical  scholars, 
is  that  the  meaning  of  the  vi^ords  of  the  inspired 
writer  must  be  largely  determined  by  the  exigencies 
of  his  surroundings.  If  a  great  truth  of  revelation 
is  to  be  established  in  a  community,  the  revelator 
is  supposed  to  take  into  account  the  popular  preju- 
dices and  doctrines,  and  especially  is  he  expected 
to  use  the  language  which  is  commonly  used  and 
readily  understood  by  the  people  to  whom  he  brings 
this  new  and  advanced  truth.  If  he  were  to  refuse 
to  accept  the  community  as  he  finds  it,  or  fail  to 
adapt  himself  to  the  exigencies  of  his  surroundings, 
we  can  readily  see  that,  in  the  absence  of  a  miracle, 
he  would  utterly  fail  to  impress  himself  and  his  new 
doctrine  upon  a  people  whose  very  habits  of  thought, 
speech,  and  life  would  repel  him.  So,  before  we  can 
•determine  the  thoughts  of  the  inspired  writer,  we 
must  first  know  the  circumstances  and  conditions 
which  interposed  between  him  and  those  to  whom 
his  revelation  was  to  be  made. 

That  God,  in  his  plan  of  saving  a  race,  has  thus 


398  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

accommodated  himself  to  the  conditions  of  mankind, 
is  a  truth  universally  conceded  by  all  intelligent 
students  of  divine  providence.  To  do  otherwise 
would  be,  first,  to  act  with  less  than  human  wisdom, 
and,  secondly,  to  involve  the  necessity  of  a  miracle 
at  every  step  in  the  process  of  establishing  truth  in 
order  that  the  public  mind  may  be  rid  of  all  forms 
of  error  that  lie  in  the  way  of  truth.  The  admission 
of  this  rule  of  exegesis  involves  the  necessity  of 
historic  criticism  touching  the  subject  of  demonol- 
ogy.  We  therefore  submit,  in  the  light  of  history, 
the  following  propositions : 

First.  The  doctrine  of  a  personal  devil  formed  no 
part  of  the  Mosaic  theology. 

That  the  conception  of  Satan  as  "  prince  of  devils'* 
was  wholly  an  afterthought  in  the  system  of  Jewish 
theocracy  may  be  seen  by  the  intelligent  and  un- 
biased student  who  will  faithfully  compare  the 
doctrine  of  the  Pentateuch  with  that  of  the  later 
books  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  writings  of  Moses 
reveal  nothing  and  suggest  nothing  but  simple  and 
unmixed  monotheism.  In  the  mind  of  the  great 
lawgiver,  God  was  one  and  indivisible.  Nor  had  he 
any  semi-supreme  being  to  antagonize  him  in  his 
universal  dominion.  The  only  passages  quoted 
going  to  prove  that  the  writer  of  the  Pentateuch 
believed  in  the  existence  of  a  personal  monster, 
next  in  wisdom  and  power  to  the  Almighty,  are  the 
following.  First,  Genesis  iii :  I.  But  the  only  thing 
here  stated  is  that   **the  serpent  was   more   subtil 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  399 

than  any  beast  of  the  field  which  the  Lord  God  had 
made."  In  the  absence  of  a  preconceived  behef  in 
the  existence  of  a  personal  devil  this  passage  would 
not  even  suggest  that  God  had  made  a  horrid 
monster,  nearly  equal  to  himself.  Much  less  would 
it  prove  that  Moses  meant  to  teach  a  doctrine  which 
was  so  foreign  and  subversive  to  his  theology. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Leviticus  xvii :  7  as 
suggesting  a  belief  in  devils.  But  the  original  word 
seiriin,  which  in  this  verse  is  translated  ''devils,"  is 
not  the  Hebrew  word  Satan,  which  stands  for  our 
word  devil.  Seirim  [sa-e-reem]  is  the  plural  form, 
from  Seir.  It  means  originally  "  hairy  ones,"  and 
then  *^  he-goats."  It  is  so  translated  in  this  place  in 
the  Revised  Version.  It  is  the  same  word  which  is 
translated  "  he-goats"  in  Lev.  xvi :  5,  and,  in  the 
singular  form,  ''  he-goat,"  in  Lev.  ix  :  3,  and  else- 
where where  he-goats  are  spoken  of  in  connection 
with  the  sacrifices  instituted  by  Moses.  Why  it  was 
ever  translated  "devils"  is  a  marvel.  The  force  of 
the  passage  here  is  this :  It  was  known  to  Moses 
that  the  Egyptians  worshiped  the  he-goat,  and 
that  the  Hebrews  had  partaken  of  their  idolatry. 
In  this  verse  he  forbids  them  to  commit  this  sin  in 
the  future,  saying,  "  They  shall  no  more  sacrifice 
their  sacrifices  unto  ^seirim;'"''  that  is,  to  the 
Egyptian  he-goats.  The  same  Biblical  criticism 
may  be  applied  to  the  passage  in  Deuteronomy 
xxxii :  17. 

We  emphasize  our  statement  that  "  The  doctrine 


400  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

of  a  personal  devil  formed  no  part  of  the  Mosaic 
theology y  There  is  not  a  single  passage  in  all  the 
writings  of  that  God-appointed  lawgiver  which,  by 
any  admissible  rule  of  interpretation,  can  be  made 
to  even  suggest  such  a  doctrine  ;  nor  is  there  a  word 
in  the  Pentateuch  which  can  properly  be  translated 
to  mean  what  our  word  "devil"  is  popularly  under- 
stood to  mean.  Strange  that  a  faith  which  is  now 
regarded  as  fundamental  should  have  been  entirely 
unknown  to  him  who  was  commissioned  of  God  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  all  true  and  subsequent  re- 
ligions. 

Secondly.  Nor  can  it  be  shown  that  this  doctrine 
of  demonology  was  clearly  recognized  even  by  any 
of  the  sacred  writers  previous  to  the  first  Jewish 
captivity,  which  occurred  about  the  year  741  before 
Christ.  Nor  can  it  be  fairly  inferred  from  any  of 
the  sacred  records  made  during  the  pre-exilian 
period.  The  passages  which  have  been  quoted  in 
proof  of  this  doctrine  are  Job  i :  6,  7,  8,  9,  12.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  doctrine  of  Satan  as  a  personal 
monster  is  clearly  taught  in  the  passages  above  re- 
ferred to,  and  that  they  were  written  before  the 
first  captivity. 

To  this  it  may  be  replied :  first,  there  is  no  means 
of  knowing  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Job,  much 
less  the  date  of  its  writing.  While  we  have  no  evi- 
dence either  internal  or  external  going  to  prove  that 
it  belongs  to  the  pre-exilian  period,  its  frequent  al- 
lusions to  the  Pentateuch  go  to  show  that  it  was 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN  HUMAN  NATURE?  40I 

subsequent  to  the  time  of  Moses.  So  important  a 
conclusion  cannot  rest  upon  a  foundation  so  pre- 
carious. 

Secondly,  the  word  "  Satan"  is  a  Hebrew  word, 
and  is  not  translated,  but  simply  transferred  into 
other  languages  in  its  original  form  ;  as  all  agree,  it 
means  "  an  adversary."  In  the  absence  of  a  pre- 
conceived faith  in  the  existence  of  a  devil,  it  would 
be  more  in  keeping  with  the  conceded  principles  of 
exegesis,  and  altogether  more  reasonable,  to  suppose 
that  the  author,  whoever  he  was,  meant  to  personify 
EVIL  as  an  '*  adversary"  which  is  known  to  be  omni- 
present. 

Thirdly,  the  Book  of  Job  is  a  dramatic  poem  on 
the  deep  problem,  *'  How  can  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous  be  consistent  with  God's  justice?"  While 
Job  stoutly  maintained  that  his  physical  suffering 
in  no  wise  reflected  upon  his  integrity  and  righteous- 
ness in  the  sight  of  God,  his  opposers  were  equally 
earnest  in  endeavoring  to  prove  that  his  great  afflic- 
tions were  but  the  legitimate  result  of  his  unprece- 
dented guilt.  He  who  believes  that  this  epic  poem 
was  inspired  in  its  entirety  must  believe  that,  while 
God  inspired  Job  to  pursue  one  line  of  argument, 
he  at  the  same  time  inspired  his  three  friends  to 
flatly  contradict  him.  But  such  a  conclusion  is  an 
absurdity  too  absurd  to  be  accepted  in  the  light  of 
"  Reason  and  Revelation." 

If  inspiration  be  claimed  for  this  marvelous  book, 

in  the  sense  that  all  the  speakers  spoke,  either  in 
26 


402  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

language  or  sentiment,  just  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  certainly  it  can  only  be  said  in 
reason  that  inspiration  begins  and  ends  where  the 
Lord  is  represented  as  reproving  Job  for  having 
"  darkened  counsel  by  words  without  knowledge," 
and  then,  turning  upon  Eliphaz,  says,  "  My  wrath  is 
kindled  against  thee  and  against  thy  two  friends ; 
for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  that  is 
right." 

If  any  one  can  believe  that  God  inspired  Job  to 
utter  "  words  without  knowledge,"  and  also  believe 
that  he  at  the  same  time  inspired  his  "  three  friends" 
to  do  even  worse,  we  must  believe  that  such  an 
elastic  mind  is  preeminently  fit  to  take  in  all  the 
hobgoblin  stories  of  Jewish  superstition,  and  all  else 
that  may  come  in  the  line  of  the  popular  thought. 

The  next  passage  claimed  in  support  of  this  doc- 
trine is  I  Chronicles  xxi :  I,  where  we  read,  "And 
Satan  stood  up  against  Israel,  and  provoked  David 
to  number  Israel."  But  by  reference  to  2  Samuel 
xxiv :  I,  we  read  an  account  of  the  same  event, 
where  it  says,  "  And  again  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he  moved  David 
against  them  to  say,  Go,  number  Israel  and  Judah." 
Thus  what  Satan  is  said  to  have  done  in  Chronicles 
is  attributed  to  the  anger  of  the  Lord  in  Samuel. 

If  a  passage  easily  understood  and  bearing  upon 
the  same  subject  may  help  to  explain  the  one  of 
doubtful  meaning,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  the 
term  "anger  of  the  Lord"  in  Samuel  is  personified 


IS  THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  403 

as  Satan  in  Chronicles.  Moreover,  all  are  agreed 
that  the  books  of  Samuel  were  written  previous  to 
the  exile,  while  the  Chronicles  are  considered  by 
most  critics,  orthodox  and  heterodox,  to  have  been 
written  by  Ezra,  and  therefore  after  the  exile. 
Ezra,  as  it  would  seem,  living  at  the  time  when 
demonology  had  become  fixed  in  the  Jewish  mind, 
took  a  liberty  in  verbalism  which  was  unknown  to 
the  older  author  of  Samuel. 

The  above  coincidence  of  two  narratives  of  the 
same  event  helps  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  the  doc- 
trine of  a  personal  Satan  was  post-exilian. 

Psalm  cix  :  6  has  been  quoted  as  showing  that 
the  Jewish  mind  had  conceived  the  doctrine  of  a 
personal  devil  long  before  the  time  of  their  captiv- 
ity. That  such  an  interpretation  is  wholly  unwar- 
ranted will  be  clearly  seen  by  reading  the  passage : 
*'  Set  thou  a  wicked  man  over  him  :  and  let  Satan 
[adversary]  stand  at  his  right  hand."  In  the  five 
preceding  verses  the  Psalmist  describes  the  character 
of  his  enemies,  and  in  the  sixth  verse  he  personifies 
them  as  one,  and  prays,  **  Set  thou  a  wicked  man 
over  him,  and  let  an  adversary  stand  at  his  right 
hand."     And  so  the  Revised  Version  renders  it. 

As  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  belonjjing'  to 
the  pre-exilian  period  at  most  only  suggest,  and  no- 
where clearly  recognize,  the  doctrine  of  a  personal 
devil,  the  question  will  naturally  arise,  Whence  came, 
then,  the  doctrine  of  demonology  so  popular  and 
universal  among  the  Jews  at  the  coming  of  Christ? 


404  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

(a)  In  answer  to  this  question  we  unhesitatingly 
affirm  that  it  came  of  contagion,  and  not  of  inspira- 
tion. It  became  incorporated  as  an  after-thought  in 
the  Jewish  mind  through  the  influence  of  surround- 
ing religions,  notably  that  of  Zoroaster.  During  the 
pre-exilian  period  of  Jewish  history  we  find  but  lit- 
tle trace  of  a  belief  in  demons,  and  absolutely  noth- 
ing of  the  doctrine  of  a  chief  of  devils.  The  horrid 
conception  came  in  after  the  exile.  It  is  a  matter 
of  history  that  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  devil 
never  assumed  definite  form  until  after  the  Jews  had 
returned  from  their  exile.  Nor  can  the  origin  of 
such  a  belief,  so  alien  and  unknown  to  the  Mosaic 
theology,  be  accounted  for,  as  it  seems  to  us,  on  any 
other  supposition  than  that  of  ''  contagion."  Dur- 
ing that  period,  the  Jews,  as  we  know,  came  in 
contact  with  the  Parsee  or  Persian  religion,  of  which 
Zoroaster  was  the  founder.  Thus  they  became  con- 
taminated with  a  foreign  theology  and  idolatry. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  Zoroaster's  **  pure  mono- 
theism," his  "  one  God  and  indivisible"  was,  never- 
theless, a  compound  of  good  and  evil.  Starting  out 
with  the  thought  of  one  God,  and  being  met  with 
**  that  everlasting  problem  of  all  thinking  minds, 
namely,  the  origin  of  evil,  and  its  incompatibility 
with  God's  goodness,  holiness,  and  justice,"  he  at- 
tempted to  solve  the  difficulty  by  assuming  two 
primeval  causes,  which,  though  different,  were 
united,  and  produced  the  world  of  material  things 
as  well  as  that  of  spirit. 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN  HUMAN  NATURE?         405 

Thus  we  observe  that  Zoroaster's  conception  of 
the  Godhead  was  that  of  an  Almighty  Father,  the 
source  of  all  good,  and  an  omnipotent  devil,  to 
whom  he  attributed  all  evil,  though  included  per- 
haps in  one  supreme  being.  The  disintegrating 
influence  of  human  thought  soon  evolved  an  abso- 
lute "dualism,"  representing  two  totally  distinct 
omnipotent  beings. 

As  we  are  simply  stating  the  facts  of  history  with- 
out going  into  detail,  we  need  only  observe  that  the 
Persian  religion,  under  the  influence  of  which  the 
Jews  were  brought  during  their  exile,  maintained 
the  doctrine  of  a  personal  devil.  That  the  theory 
of  a  Satan  of  horrid  proportions  was  introduced  into 
the  Jewish  theology  through  the  influence  of  reli- 
gious "contagion,"  and  not  of  "inspiration,"  maybe 
illustrated  by  the  following  quotation :  "  In  the 
period  elapsing  between  the  close  of  the  Apocrypha 
and  the  appearance  of  Jesus  the  Jewish  idea  of  an- 
gels, as  well  as  of  demons  and  the  Devil,  received  an 
extensive  development.  This  angelology  and  de- 
monology,  wholly  foreign  to  the  older  Hebrew  re- 
ligion, was  derived  in  all  its  essential  characteristics 
from  the  system  of  Zoroaster,  with  which  the  Jews 
had  become  familiar  by  their  long  and  close  inter- 
course with  the  Persian  empire  during  the  exile,  and 
subsequently.  It  was,  however,  impossible  to  trans- 
fer the  dualism  of  Zoroaster  into  a  creed  so  purely 
monotheistic  as  that  of  the  Jews:  this  would  have 
destroyed  the  foundation  on  which  their  entire  his- 
tory rested. 


406  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

''Two  beings,  equally  eternal,  equally  powerful, 
was  an  idea  which  no  Hebrew — mindful  of  the  glori- 
ous deliverance  of  his  forefathers  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  of  the  law  given  among  the  thunders  of 
Sinai,  of  the  manna  in  the  wilderness,  of  the  tri- 
umphs in  Canaan,  and  the  golden  psalms  of  David 
— could  for  one  moment  entertain.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  now  that  the  Jews  had  become  weak 
and  of  little  account,  hemmed  in  and  crushed  by 
mighty  and  advancing  empires,  no  conception  could 
seem  more  true  or  prove  more  consolatory  than  that 
which  permitted  them  to  attribute  their  misfor- 
tunes to  the  agency  of  a  demoniacal  race,  headed  by 
a  potentate  only  inferior  to  Jehovah  himself.  They 
could  now  believe  that  God  had  not  forsaken  his 
'chosen  people.*  Thus  the  dualism  of  Zoroaster 
suggested  the  kingdom  and  royalty  of  Satan,  but  the 
doctrine  shaped  itself  in  harmony  with  the  national 
monotheism.  The  Devil  and  his  demons  were  rep- 
resented as  having  been  originally  angels,  and  had 
fallen  from  their  *  high  estate,*  been  punished  by 
God,  and  had  therefore  assumed  a  position  of  hos- 
tility, without,  however,  being  able  to  materially 
frustrate  the  divine  purpose. 

"  These  opinions  found  an  almost  universal  recep- 
tion among  the  people,  as  well  as  among  those  Jew- 
ish theologians  who,  along  with  the  Mosaic  law,  held 
oral  tradition  to  be  an  authentic  source  of  religious 
doctrine.  Indeed,  the  only  Jewish  sect  which  re- 
jected them  was  that  of  the  Sadducees,  who  consid- 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN  NATURE?  407 

ered  them  to  be  new,  outlandish,  anti-Mosaic  myths 
and  theories. 

*'  This  conflict  of  opinion  among  the  Jews  prevented 
their  ideas  of  the  Devil  and  demons  from  obtaining, 
in  spite  of  their  broad  diffusion,  a  dogmatic  and 
systematic  stability.  The  populace  and  the  Phari- 
sees believed  fervidly  in  the  existence  of  such  evil 
spirits;  but  their  conceptions  had  not  only  all  the 
heat,  but  all  the  confusedness,  of  superstition.'* 
{Chambers  s  Encyclopcedia^  Art.  "  Devil.") 

No  one  at  all  acquainted  with  Oriental  history 
will  call  in  question  the  fact  that  the  satanic  doctrine 
was  fundamental  in  the  Parsee  religion  long  before 
it  was  incorporated  into  the  Jewish  theology. 
Hence  it  must  follow  that,  if  the  orthodox  theory 
of  a  personal  devil  came  of  *'  inspiration"  and  not  of 
"  contagion,"  Zoroaster,  and  not  Moses  or  any  of 
the  sacred  writers,  was  the  inspired  revelator. 

As  the  doctrine  of  demonology  is  thus  seen  to 
have  been  incorporated  into  Jewish  history  through 
the  contagious  influence  of  foreign  religions,  another 
question  may  arise: 

{b)  To  what  extent  had  this  doctrine  become 
popularized  among  the  Jews  at  the  coming  of 
Christ?  While  the  sacred  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment belonging  to  the  post-exilian  period  only  al- 
lude, and  that  rarely,  to  a  theory  so  subversive  of 
their  theology,  the  doctrine  of  demonology  at  the 
coming  of  the  Saviour  was  universally  popular,  not 
only  among  the  Jews,  but  with  all  the  surrounding 


408  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

nations.  This  was  the  condition  of  the  world's 
thought  when  the  *'  New  Testament  Hfts  up  the  veil 
of  oblivion  that  had  dropped  on  the  face  of  the 
Jewish  nation  more  than  two  centuries  before." 
The  prince  of  devils  and  a  swarm  of  demons  had  in- 
vaded Palestine.  As  to  the  popularity  of  this  doc- 
trine among  the  Gentiles,  there  can  be  no  question. 
Both  Greek  and  Roman  history  abundantly  show 
that  it  was  fundamental,  if  not  paramount,  in  their 
religion.  While,  however,  the  Gentile  philosophy 
represented  two  classes  of  demons,  one  good  and  the 
other  bad,  the  Jewish  conception  at  the  time  of 
Christ  regarded  all  demons  as  being  malignant  op- 
posers  of  God  and  man. 

While  the  Greeks  and  Jews  differed  in  the  above 
particulars,  they  were  agreed  in  the  belief  that  de- 
mons were  none  other  than  the  spirits  of  the  de- 
parted dead  which  came  back  to  possess  the  souls 
of  the  living.  The  Greek  thought  represented  that 
these  departed  souls  were  instrumentalities  of  com- 
munication between  the  creature  and  the  Creator. 

Plato  says,  as  quoted  by  Kitto,  "  Every  demon  is 
a  middle  being  between  God  and  mortals."  And 
again:  "  Demons  are  reporters  and  carriers  from  men 
to  the  gods,  and  again  from  the  gods  to  men,  of  the 
supplications  and  prayers  of  the  one,  and  of  the  in- 
junctions and  rewards  of  devotion  from  the  other." 
While  it  was  the  office  of  the  good  demon  to  bear 
petitions  to  the  Almighty,  and  helpful  messages 
back  to  the  souls  they  represented,  wicked  demons 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN  HUMAN  NATURE?         409 

employed  their  time  in  seeking  to  bring  evil  upon 
the  souls  they  possessed.  *'  It  is  a  very  ancient 
opinion,"  says  Plutarch,  "that  there  are  certain 
wicked  and  malignant  demons,  who  envy  good  men, 
and  endeavor  to  hinder  them  in  the  pursuit  of  vir- 
tue, lest  they  should  be  partakers  of  greater  happi- 
ness than  they  enjoyed." 

Pythagoras  and  other  Greek  philosophers  be- 
lieved that  these  wicked  demons  brought  "disease 
to  men  and  cattle." 

While,  as  we  have  seen,  demonology  originated 
with  Parseeism,  or  the  religion  of  Zoroaster,  yet,  like 
a  contagion,  it  went  forth  to  obtain  dominion  over 
the  known  world.  And  though  it  may  justly  be 
claimed  that  the  Jews  at  one  time  in  their  history 
believed,  in  common  with  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
that  there  w^ere  good  and  bad  demons,  yet  when 
Christ  made  his  appearance  in  the  world  the  Jew- 
ish mind  had  entirely  eliminated  the  thought  of 
good  demons,  and  had  accepted  the  doctrine  that 
none  but  the  spirits  of  the  wicked  came  back  to 
possess  and  ruin  the  souls  of  men.  This  doctrine 
had  universally  obtained  among  all  the  sects  of  the 
Jews  except  the  Sadducees.  As  this  sect  accepted 
no  part  of  the  Eible  as  authority  but  the  Pentateuch, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  does  not  even  suggest  the 
existence  of  a  devil,  it  therefore  rejected  the  doc- 
trine of  demonology  as  nothing  but  an  outlandish 
superstition. 

All  the  diseases,  of  either  body  or  mind,  which 


4IO  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

were  beyond  the  physician's  art,  were  attributed  to 
the  demons — that  is,  to  the  spirits  of  the  wicked  dead, 
which  had  come  back  thus  to  afflict  the  Hving.  All 
such  diseased  persons  were  pronounced  demoniacs, 
*'  the  name  given  by  the  Jews  to  persons  afflicted 
with  epilepsy,  hypochondria,  or  insanity,  diseases  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  East,  The  name  origi- 
nated in  the  belief  that  persons  so  afflicted  had  been 
taken  possession  of  by  evil  spirits  or  demons.  It 
was  a  prevalent  opinion  among  the  Persians,  Greeks, 
Romans,  and  the  ancients  generally,  that  the  extra- 
ordinary conditions  and  actions  of  men  which  could 
not  be  referred  to  the  known  and  apparent  opera- 
tions and  powers  of  the  mind,  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  influence  of  one  or  more  higher  spirits.  This 
belief  is  found  in  Homer,  Herodotus,  Euripides, 
and  later  writers,  and  also  rooted  itself  very  deeply 
in  the  Christian  mind  during  the  middle  ages.  As 
the  good,  when  beyond  the  limits  of  the  ordinary 
powers  or  faculties  of  great  men,  was  attributed  to 
the  inspiration  of  the  muses,  or  to  the  direct  co- 
operation, or  even  incarnation  in  their  persons,  of 
some  beneficent  deity,  so  also  that  deep  internal 
unhappiness  of  *a  mind  diseased,*  which  no  strength 
of  will  and  no  physician's  art  in  olden  times  could 
remove,  was  as  unhesitatingly  attributed  to  evil 
spirits  or  demons.  .  .  . 

''Thus,  Christ  appears  in  the  synoptic  gospels  as 
healing  many  who  were  possessed  of  unclean  spirits, 
casting  out  devils,   etc.     But  apart  from   the  fact 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN  NATURE?         411 

that  a  belief  in  demoniacal  possession  was  more 
vital  and  universal  among  the  later  Jews,  on  account 
of  their  being  more  deeply  penetrated  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  and  by  a  conviction  of  the  mys- 
terious connection  between  evil  and  Satan,  it  was 
also  expected  of  the  Messiah,  the  anointed  of  God, 
that  he  would  possess  power  over  demons.  This 
fundamental  national  belief  would  unconsciously 
prepare  the  contemporaries  of  Christ  for  regarding 
his  divine  exercise  of  the  physician's  art  from  a  re- 
ligious rather  than  a  scientific  point  of  view.  When 
they  beheld  the  miraculous  effects  of  his  power  on 
the  bodies  and  spirits  of  the  so-called  demoniacs,  it 
was  natural  that  they  should  speak  of  it  in  lan- 
guage intelligible  to  their  age  and  in  harmony  with 
its  general  notions.  To  have  used  other  words, 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  higher  scientific  knowledge, 
would  have  been  as  confusing  to  the  Jews  and  early 
Christians  as  it  would  have  been  to  assure  them 
that  it  was  the  earth  and  not  the  sun  which  stood 
still  during  the  battle  at  Gibeon.  Besides,  when  it 
is  remembered  that  even  before  the  synoptic  gos- 
pels were  written  the  miraculous  incidents  of  Christ's 
life  must  have  fixed  themselves  in  the  minds  of  the 
populace  under  the  conditions  of  the  popular  belief, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  that  there  was  any  other  course 
open  to  the  evangelical  historians,  even  if  they  did 
not  share  the  common  belief  of  their  countrymen, 
than  to  adopt  the  current  representations.  They 
had  no  interest  in  the  mere  scientific  accuracy  or 


412  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

inaccuracy  of  such  representations.  Their  object 
was  different  and  higher:  it  was  to  show  the  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness  of  the  Saviour — qualities 
which  are  equally  manifest,  whichever  theory  may 
be  adopted.  This  view  of  the  question,  which  is 
held  to  be  in  conformity  with  sound  science  and 
sound  criticism,  presents  itself  almost  irresistibly  to 
the  candid  and  impartial  student  of  the  Bible,  when 
he  bears  in  mind  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  re- 
corded examples  of  demoniacal  possession  different 
from  the  ordinary  symptoms  of  epilepsy,  hypochon- 
dria, and  insanity,  which  are  not  now  beyond  the 
physician's  skill."  {Chambers  s  Encyclopcedia,  Art. 
"  Demoniacs.") 

What  has  been  said  of  the  character  and  general 
popularity  of  the  doctrine  of  demonology  among 
the  Jews  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  sugges- 
tions in  the  last  part  of  the  above  quotation,  pre- 
pares us  for  the  final  proposition  : 

Thirdly,  Christ  and  his  apostles  used  the  terms 
*'  Satan,'*  "  devil^'  and  '*  demons  "  in  keeping  with  the 
popular  thought  and  language,  without  assuming  the 
common  errors  of  their  times, 

Christ's  mission  was  not  to  correct  the  literature 
of  the  age,  nor  to  give  a  text-book  on  medical 
science,  nor  yet  to  enter  into  controversy  with  the 
Jews  touching  all  or  any  of  the  theological  ab- 
surdities into  which  they  had  drifted.  His  was  the 
loftier  aim  of  convincing  the  world  that  he  was 
the  "■  Messiah,  the  anointed  of  God,"  commissioned 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN  NATURE?         413 

of  heaven  to  save  mankind  from  sin,  lead  them  to  a 
life  of  righteousness,  and  to  establish  upon  earth  a 
religion  of  universal  purity  and  unity,  the  grand 
mission  of  which,  when  completed,  would  be  to 
eliminate  all  false  theories  in  human  theology,  cor- 
rect the  mistakes  of  language,  and  not  only  bind  all 
hearts  together,  but  all  back  to  God,  that  in  the 
coming  future  his  will  might  be  done  on  earth  as  in 
heaven. 

Had  he  played  the  part  of  a  man,  by  introducing 
his  cudgel  to  fight  the  inistaken  notions  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  to  establish  a  literature  in  keeping 
with  absolute  truth,  instead  of  popular  thought, 
we  can  readily  see  that  he  would  have  frittered 
away  his  opportunity  and  shown  a  human  ig- 
norance instead  of  the  divine  wisdom  of  Him  who 
spoke  as  man  never  spoke. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  preface  to  these  proposi- 
tions, the  revelator  is  supposed  to  take  into  account 
the  popular  prejudices  and  doctrines,  and  especially 
is  he  expected  to  use  the  language  which  is  com- 
monly used  and  therefore  readily  understood  by  the 
people  to  whom  he  brings  this  new  and  advanced 
truth.  Had  he  acted  otherwise,  we  can  readily 
imagine  the  result.  For  example,  take  the  case  of 
the  woman  of  Canaan  (Matt,  xv  :  22)  coming  to 
Christ,  saying,  '*  O  Lord,  thou  son  of  David!  my 
daughter  is  grievously  vexed  with  a  devil."  Had 
Jesus  entered  into  controversy  with  the  woman  to 
convince  her  that  her  daughter  had  the  epilepsy, 


414  REASON  AND  REVELATION. 

and  that  the  popular  doctrine  of  demonology  was 
unscientific  and  nothing  but  a  false  superstition,  we 
can  readily  see  that  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  would 
have  convinced  her  that  her  daughter  was  not 
**  grievously  vexed  with  a  devil."  And  the  probable 
result  would  have  been  that  unbelief  would  have 
displaced  her  faith,  and  her  daughter  would  never 
have  been  healed.  This  woman's  theology,  on  this 
subject,  was  of  little  importance  to  the  Saviour, 
compared  with  that  sublimer  thought  of  doing  a 
benevolent  act,  and  of  convincing  the  world  at  the 
same  time  of  his  Messiahship  by  doing  that  which 
was  beyond  the  physician's  skill. 

The  contagion  of  foreign  religions,  the  scriptures 
falsely  interpreted  by  the  priests,  scribes,  and  Phari- 
sees, had  filled  the  Jewish  mind  with  an  intolerable 
burden  of  false  theology.  Then,  as  now,  there  were 
two  ways  to  rid  the  public  mind  of  false  theories ; 
namely,  first,  to  controvert  and  combat  error,  by 
showing  that  it  is  unscientific  and  contrary  to  sense 
and  reason,  and  second,  by  presenting  truth,  and 
allowing  '*  error"  to  take  care  of  itself.  While  the 
man  of  negatives,  with  but  little  of  positive  truth, 
usually  adopts  the  first  method,  the  man  of  exalted 
convictions  leaves  squabbling  to  those  who  can  do 
nothing  better,  and  proceeds  to  the  diviner  mission 
of  establishing  the  fundamental  principles  of  truth, 
the  ordained  purpose  of  which  is  to  root  out  all 
mistakes,  and  bring  about  a  unity  of  thought  and 
harmony  of  purpose.     Ignorance  may  be  guilty  of 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  415 

cudgeling  the  darkness  with  a  view  to  driving  it 
from  the  room,  but  the  diviner  thought  will  intro- 
duce a  light  and  allow  the  darkness  to  take  care  of 
itself. 

No  one  can  carefully  study  the  methods  of  the 
divine  teacher  without  observing  that  he  purposed 
to  save  the  world  from  falsehood  and  ruin,  not  by 
combating  error  or  correcting  the  mistakes  of  pop- 
ular notions,  but  by  establishing  fundamental  truth, 
which,  like  leaven,  will  not  cease  its  transforming 
power  until  the  darkness  of  superstition  shall  have 
vanished  before  its  illuminating  influences.  Believ- 
ing that  the  "  fittest  must  survive,"  Jesus  accepted 
the  world  as  it  was  and  went  about  his  work,  as- 
sured that  truth  is  mighty  and  must  prevail.  Even 
a  great  man  who  has  discovered  a  new  truth,  which 
he  greatly  desires  to  impress  upon  the  public  mind, 
does  not  stop  to  combat  false  theories  on  matters 
irrelevant,  and  to  invent  a  new  phraseology  ;  but, 
absorbed  with  his  new  discovery,  he  proceeds  to  set 
it  forth  in  the  words  which  his  pupils  best  under- 
stand. 

When  Copernicus  went  beyond  all  his  predeces- 
sors in  grasping  the  science  of  the  stars,  he  did  not 
stop  to  explain  the  fallacy  of  popular  superstitions 
nor  to  create  a  new  language.  These  things  were 
not  to  be  thought  of  while  under  the  inspiration  of 
that  sublime  purpose  of  explaining  to  the  world  a 
theory  which  was  to  be  handed  down  to  all  coming 
ages  as  illustrative  of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  the 


41 6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Infinite.  Is  It  possible  to  believe  that  the  greatest 
teacher  of  all  would  act  less  wisely?  Shall  He  who 
was  commissioned  of  God  to  bear  from  heaven  to 
earth  a  message  which  was  destined  to  revolutionize 
the  world  of  thought,  and  overturn  all  forms  of  re- 
ligion, until  the  "  heathen  shall  be  given  to  him  for 
an  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  his  possession" — shall  he,  who  saw  the  end  from 
the  beginning  of  the  sublimest  undertaking  the 
world  ever  witnessed,  stop  to  controvert  false  theo- 
ries, and  to  dispute  as  to  the  meaning  of  words  ? 
Such  a  supposition  would  only  illustrate  how  little 
we  comprehend  of  the  sublimity  of  Christ's  under- 
taking to  bring  the  world  back  to  truth  and  right- 
eousness, that  thus  the  music  of  the  moral  universe 
might  be  as  harmonious  as  that  of  the  spheres. 

Jesus  and  his  apostles,  with  a  view  to  establishing 
.  the  divinity  of  their  exalted  mission,  only  used  the 
terms  "  Satan,"  "  devil,"  and  "  demons"  to  accom- 
modate themselves  to  the  popular  thought  and 
language,  without  indorsing  any  of  these  absurdi- 
ties into  which  the  Jews  had  drifted  by  coming 
in  contact  with  foreign  religions.  That  they  used 
these  terms  only  in  an  accommodated  sense  may 
be  clearly  seen,  as  it  seems  to  us,  from  the  following 
considerations: 

{a)  The  human  aihnents,  both  physical  and  men- 
tal, as  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  and  attrib- 
uted to  demoniacal  possession,  are,  so  far  as  we  are 
able  to  observe,  quite  analogous  to  those  of  the 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  417 

present  day.  There  were  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb 
then  as  now.  Some  had  their  eyes  put  out,  while 
others  were  born  blind,  then  as  now.  Humanity 
suffered  then  as  now  with  what  we  call  epilepsy, 
lunacy,  insanity,  etc.  The  physician  of  modern 
times,  diagnosing  those  cases  referred  to  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles  from  the  standpoint  of  medical 
science,  would  unhesitatingly  pronounce  them  simi- 
lar, in  every  particular,  to  the  diseases  which  now 
afflict  humanity.  The  raving  maniacs  of  to-day  are 
but  duplicates  of  those  recorded  in  Matt,  viii :  28. 
The  "  two  possessed  with  devils,  coming  out  of  the 
tombs,  exceeding  fierce,"  spoke  and  acted  just  as 
wild  and  fierce  maniacs  do  now.  There  is  no  ap- 
parent difference  between  them  and  those  similarly 
afflicted  now,  except  that  there  was  then  no  asylum 
in  which  those  miserable  souls  could  be  tenderly 
cared  for  and  have  medical  treatment,  which  might 
prove  an  antidote  to  their  mental  derangement. 
As  the  popular  opinion  regarded  them  as  being 
possessed  of  a  supernatural  power,  and  hence  beyond 
the  physician's  art,  they  made  no  effort  to  relieve 
them,  but  only  sought  to  repress  them  from  doing 
harm. 

The  fact  that  they  are  represented  (Luke  viii :  29) 
as  possessing  great  strength,  so  that  they  broke  the 
chains  with  which  they  were  bound ;  recognized 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  (because  they  had  heard  of 
his  fame) ;   replied  that  their  name  was  Legion,  and 

requested  that  they  might  enter  into  the  swine, — all 
27 


4l8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

these  strange  phenomena,  as  we  know,  belong  to 
the  raving  maniac  of  our  day.  The  fact  that  Jesus 
acted  upon  the  demoniacs'  suggestion  and  sent  the 
devils  into  the  swine,  proves  nothing  but  that  the 
Saviour  accommodated  himself  to  the  popular  belief, 
that  he  might  thus,  by  a  twofold  miracle,  the  more 
readily  impress  upon  the  world's  thought  the  abso- 
lute divinity  of  his  power.  It  was  but  a  transfer  of 
the  disease  of  the  maniacs  into  the  swine. 

The  maniacs  of  to-day,  in  their  wild  frenzy,  are 
known  to  put  forth  almost  superhuman  strength, 
tear  clothes  from  their  bodies,  and  the  very  hair 
from  their  heads,  and  on  some  subjects  exhibit  re- 
markable shrewdness,  imagining  themselves  to  be 
elephants,  dogs,  kings,  queens,  lords,  and  even  al- 
mighties ;  and  if  the  doctrine  of  demons  was  popu- 
lar, there  would  be  those,  doubtless,  who  would  give 
their  name  as  "  Legion." 

In  performing  the  twofold  miracle  in  the  case 
cited  above,  in  order  to  impress  his  divinity  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people,  Jesus  had  no  course  open 
to  him  but  to  use  their  language,  without  stopping 
to  combat  their  false  theories.  In  this  particular  he 
did  as  the  astronomer  does  now  when  he  accommo- 
dates himself  to  the  popular  language  by  saying 
that  "  the  sun  rises  and  sets,"  though  he  knows  that 
it  is  the  motion  of  the  earth  and  not  of  the  sun 
which  gives  rise  to  these  phenomena.  So  Jesus 
adopts  the  language  best  understood  by  his  coun- 
trymen when   he    commands  the  "  devils  to  come 


IS   THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  419 

out,"  though  he  knew  that  it  was  a  natural  disease, 
and  not  devils,  which  caused  the  madness. 

The  learned  physician  in  talking  to  the  common 
people  will  speak  of  ''lunacy"  and  "St.  Anthony's 
fire,"  when  he  knows  that  they  are  natural  diseases, 
the  cause  of  which  can  be  ascertained  and  often  re- 
moved by  medicine,  and  that  neither  the  moon  in 
the  one  case  nor  St.  Anthony  in  the  other  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  affliction.  So  Jesus,  in  address- 
ing the  common  people,  used  the  only  language 
which  they  understood,  though  at  the  same  time  he 
knew  the  truth  which  science  has  clearly  revealed, 
that  their  belief  in  devils  was  only  an  absurdity 
which  had  grown  out  of  their  ignorance. 

A  clear  case  of  modern  epilepsy  is  recorded  in 
Matt,  xvii :  18  :  "  And  Jesus  rebuked  the  devil;  and 
he  departed  out  of  him  :  and  the  child  was  cured 
from  that  very  hour."  Had  the  question  been 
asked,  "  What  is  the  matter  with  the  child?"  there 
had  been  a  number  of  replies.  The  father  had  given 
one  answer,  the  people  another ;  while  modern 
science  would  indicate  that  both  answers  were  the 
result  of  superstition. 

The  father  believed  (Matt,  xvii:  15)  that  his  son 
was  lunatic  (moon-struck),  while  the  popular  belief 
was  that  he  was  "  possessed  of  a  devil."  But  there 
is  not  a  medical  scientist  of  modern  times  who, 
taking  the  manifest  symptoms  as  given  in  the  nar- 
rative, would  not  unhesitatingly  pronounce  it  a 
clear  case  of  epilepsy.     Jesus,  under  the  inspiration 


420  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

of  his  exalted  commission,  did  not  stop  to  tell  the 
father  that  his  son  was  not  ''  moon-struck,"  nor  to 
argue  with  the  populace  that  he  was  not  *'  possessed 
of  the  devil ;"  but  he  accommodated  himself  to  the 
prevalent  belief,  and  to  the  use  of  such  terms  as 
would  be  most  likely  to  convince  the  people  that  he 
was  possessed  of  superhuman  power.  The  fact 
which  may  be  emphasized,  however,  is,  that  there 
is  not  a  case  recorded  in  the  New  Testament  attrib- 
uted to  demoniac  possession,  which  would  not  be 
pronounced  by  the  scholarly  physician  of  modern 
times  as  similar  in  every  particular  to  the  diseases 
of  to-day. 

If  the  afflictions  cited  in  the  sacred  books  were 
caused  by  demons,  then  logical  consistency  will  lead 
us  to  conclude  that  similar  afflictions  of  modern 
times  must  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause.  Is  it 
reasonable  to  believe  that  devils  produced  then  what 
we  know  disease  produces  now  ?  It  is  altogether 
more  in  keeping  with  sound  sense  to  suppose  that 
ignorance  then  attributed  to  the  devil  what  intelli- 
gence now  charges  to  the  account  of  disease.  The 
only  assignable  reason  why  they  believed  in  demo- 
niac possession  is  found  in  the  fact  that  those  physi- 
cal and  mental  ailments  were  beyond  the  physician's 
skill.  What  they  in  their  blindness  referred  to  a 
supernatural  and  hence  unknown  origin,  modern  sci- 
ence traces  directly  to  a  physical  cause,  which  can 
be  reached  and  often  removed  by  medical  aid. 

The  man  who   can   believe   that   "  demons"  pro- 


IS  THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  42 1 

duced,  long  time  ago,  afflictions  in  the  physical  or- 
ganism which  are  now  known  to  be  the  result  of 
natural  causes,  might  as  well  believe  that  the  ancient 
system  of  astrology  was  true  then,  but  now,  under 
the  light  of  the  science  of  astronomy,  is  grossly 
false  and  absurd. 

We  assume  that  no  intelligent  man  believes  in  the 
doctrine  of  demoniac  possession  as  the  Jews  held  it 
— namely,  that  the  spirits  of  wicked  persons  deceased 
now  come  back  to  possess  and  torment  the  souls  of 
the  living !  Where  is  the  man  who  regards  the  prov- 
idences of  God  as  being  wise,  just,  and  beneficent, 
and  who  knows  anything  of  human  ailments,  that 
would  avow  his  belief  in  such  a  doctrine?  A  man 
publishing  such  a  faith  in  this  age  of  sense  and  rea- 
son would  hardly  be  considered  fit  to  go  at  large 
among  people  of  sane  minds.  And  yet  wherein  is 
it  a  less  folly  for  one  to  profess  to  believe  that  the 
Jews,  in  their  ignorance,  were  right  in  attributing  to 
''demons"  what  is  now  known  to  be  the  result  of 
natural  causes? 

Nor  is  it  enough  to  say  that  our  faith  that  de- 
moniac possession  was  a  reality  then,  though  not  so 
now,  rests  upon  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  As  we  have  sought  to  show,  these  sacred 
authors,  with  a  view  to  promoting  their  heaven-or- 
dained mission,  only  used  language  with  which  the 
Jews  were  familiar,  and  thus  accommodated  them- 
selves to  the  popular  thought  and  expression.  To 
claim  that  a  doctrine  taught  by  the  Jews  was  true 


422  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

then,  though  we  know  it  to  be  false  now,  is  to  ex- 
change an  apparent  difficulty  for  one  that  is  real. 
Such  a  faith  should  be  relegated  to  heathen  mythol- 
ogy, where  it  was  born,  or  to  Jewish  superstition, 
where  it  came  to  its  maturity,  and  no  longer  re- 
proach Christianity,  stultify  reason,  and  contradict 
the  known  facts  of  medical  science. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Jewish  theory  of  demonol- 
ogy  was,  that  while  there  were  legions  of  demons, 
these  were  led  on  in  their  mischief  by  one  "  prince 
of  devils."     This  leads  to  the  inquiry: 

(a)  Why  discard  the  doctrine  of  "  demons"  and  re- 
tain that  of  their  leader? 

While  many  scholarly  men  believe  that  demoniac 
possession  in  the  days  of  Christ  was  a  reality,  they 
are  not  willing  to  believe  that  demons  or  departed 
spirits  come  back  now  to  possess  and  afflict  the 
souls  of  the  living.  If  we  believe  that  demoniacs 
were  beings  of  the  past,  why  not  assign  to  their 
leader,  Satan,  a  place  also  in  the  catalogue  of  Jewish 
hobgoblins?  If  science,  under  the  influence  of 
Christian  civilization,  has  eliminated  the  best  half  of 
the  doctrine,  why  not  allow  that  mental  philosophy, 
enlightened  by  Christian  experience,  shall  dispose  of 
the  worst  half?  For  does  not  the  doctrine  of  de- 
mons seem  less  dishonoring  to  God  and  less  hurtful 
to  man  than  that  which  maintains  the  existence  of 
a  huge  and  horrid  monster,  whose  dominion  in  the 
physical  and  moral  universe  is  semi-almighty?  If 
the  one  be  regarded  as  an  absurdity  in  science,  the 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  423 

other  must  be  looked  upon  as  a  monstrosity  on  the 
moral  universe,  which  reason  can  never  reconcile 
with  the  thought  of  an  omnipotent,  omniscient,  and 
omnipresent  Father. 

Though  the  foregoing  suggestions  might  be  re- 
garded as  sufficient  to  explain  all  allusions  to  demon- 
ology  by  the  sacred  writers,  it  still  seems  proper, 
before  dismissing  the  subject,  to  allude  to  two  other 
passages  in  the  Gospels  and  one  in  the  book  of  Rev- 
elation. 

The  temptation  of  Jesus  (Matt,  iv  :  i-ii  ;  Mark 
i  :  12,  13  ;  and  Luke  iv  :  1-13)  is  regarded  by  some 
as  strongly  suggestive,  if  not  proof  positive,  of  the 
existence  of  a  personal  devil.  Before  adopting  a 
doctrine  so  fundamental,  and  yet  so  out  of  keeping 
with  the  teaching  of  Christ,  it  will  be  well  carefully 
to  observe  the  following  suggestions,  which  will  be 
found  helpful  in  determining  the  true  meaning  of 
this  reported  event : 

(i)  It  must  be  observed  that  this  is  no  part  of  the 
Lord's  teaching,  but  only  a  reported  event  in  the 
history  of  his  life.  If  Satan  be  really  a  personal 
monster,  next  in  power  and  wisdom  to  God,  the  be- 
lief in  that  event  must  be  regarded  as  fundamental 
in  the  Christian  religion.  And  yet,  strange  to  say, 
Christ  in  all  his  discourses  does  not  even  allude  to  a 
fact  so  important  to  be  understood. 

His  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.,  chapters  v,  vi, 
vii),  the  longest  of  his  reported  addresses,  makes  not 
the  slightest  reference   to   it.     And   yet   it  is  com- 


424  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

monly  believed  that  this  sermon  contains  enough  of 
truth,  if  beheved,  to  save  the  world,  though  all 
else  were  sunk  to  the  depths  of  the  sea.  This 
sermon  was  given  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry : 
the  next  longest  recorded  address  was  at  the  close 
(John,  chapters  xiv,  xv,  xvi).  As  at  this  time  awful 
death  (which  the  popular  theory  maintains  was  un- 
der the  control  of  Satan)  was  staring  him  in  the 
face,  we  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  doctrine 
of  a  personal  devil,  if  so  fundamentally  important, 
would  be  set  forth  with  great  clearness.  And  yet 
the  Divine  Teacher,  with  all  the  disgrace  and  suffer- 
ing that  were  heaped  upon  him,  made  not  the 
slightest  allusion  in  all  that  discourse  to  this  Satan 
of  Zoroaster,  which  has  become  one  of  the  corner- 
stones of  orthodoxy.  His  sermons  were  full  of  God 
but  no  devil. 

The  unbiased  student  of  the  Bible  is  here  met 
with  two  facts,  namely : 

First,  when  Jesus  was  performing  miracles  in  attes- 
tation of  the  divinity  of  his  mission,  it  was  necessary 
for  him,  as  it  was  for  the  writers  of  the  gospels,  to 
use  the  common  language  in  reference  to  the  popu- 
lar doctrine  of  demonology;  but. 

Second,  while  delivering  these  popular  address- 
es, in  which  he  set  forth  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  saving  truth,  he  makes  no  allusion  to  the  doctrine 
of  a  personal  Satan,  nor  even  of  demons.  These  two 
facts  put  together  seem  to  be  strongly  suggestive  of 
his  superhuman  wisdom. 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  425 

(2)  The  account  of  the  temptation  should  be  ac- 
cepted as  the  report  of  a  great  spiritual  truth  and 
not  the  narrative  of  a  literal  event.  To  interpret 
this  story  as  being  a  literal  transaction  must  inevi- 
tably lead  to  false  conclusions ;  for, 

{a)  If  we  interpret  the  narrative  as  real  and  not 
spiritual,  then  we  must  believe  that  Jesus  stopped 
to  hold  conversation  with  a  being  of  horrid  form. 
If  it  was  the  veritable  orthodox  devil  who  was  in 
audience  with  Christ,  that  fact  must  have  been 
known  to  the  Saviour.  Can  we  imagine  that  He 
who  was  of  absolute  purity  of  character  would  stop 
to  hold  a  literal  conversation  with  a  totally  depraved 
monster?  Even  as  an  example  to  humanity,  it 
would  hardly  be  considered  the  right  thing  to  be 
done.  The  action  would  be  criticised  if  even  a  good 
man  were  deliberately  to  go  into  audience  with  one 
whom  he  knew  to  be  overwhelmingly  powerful  in 
wicked  devices  and  entirely  beyond  the  hope  of  re- 
covery. 

{b)  If  this  recital  be  accepted  as  literal,  we  must 
believe  that  Jesus  not  only  paused  to  hold  a  conver- 
sation with  Satan,  but  allowed  himself  to  be  led  about 
by  him.  The  conversation  began  in  the  country, 
miles  away  from  Jerusalem ;  but  after  it  **  the 
devil  taketh  him  up  into  the  holy  city."  From  this 
it  would  appear  that  Jesus  followed  the  devil  too 
long  and  too  far.  But  seeming  to  yield  to  the 
influence  of  the  tempter,  he  follows  him  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  upward  to  the  "  pinnacle  of 


426  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

the  temple."  Nor  is  this  enough ;  but  down  from 
the  pinnacle,  out  of  the  temple,  back  again  into  the 
country,  the  Saviour  allows  himself  to  be  led  by  the 
devil  **up  into  an  exceeding  high  mountain,"  where 
the  devil  elaborates  upon  the  possibility  of  his  be- 
coming immensely  wealthy  and  powerful.  It  is 
philosophical  as  well  as  Biblical  to  admit  that 

•'  Evil  into  the  mind  of  God  or  man 

May  come  and  go,  so  unapproved,  and  leave 
No  spot  or  blame  behind." 

But  to  allow  the  evil  thought  not  only  to  come, 
but  to  remain  until  it  has  been  reduced  to  practice, 
then,  by  universal  consent,  it  becomes  sin.  Thus, 
if  we  accept  this  narrative  as  literal,  we  are  led  by 
an  irresistible  logic  to  a  false  conclusion,  namely, 
that  Christ  committed  actual  sin  by  allowing  him- 
self to  act  upon  the  suggestions  of  the  devil. 

{c)  If  this  be  accepted  as  literal,  Christ  has  given 
us  the  example  of  reasoning  with  the  devil  and  of 
being  led  by  him  for  a  season,  in  order  that,  after 
"  sowing  our  wild-oats,"  we  may,  forsooth,  have  the 
pleasure  of  saying  to  him,  "  Get  behind  me,  Satan." 

(3)  By  accepting  this  report  as  spiritual  and  not 
literal,  we  not  only  relieve  the  text  of  the  foregoing 
difficulties,  but  can  readily  understand  how  Jesus 
*'  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  with- 
out sin."  If  he  were  tempted  as  we  are,  then,  to 
know  the  real  character  of  his  temptation,  we  need 
only  look  into  our  own  experience.     With  us  temp- 


IS   THE   DEVIL  IN   HUMAN  NATURE?  427 

tation  is  the  thought  of  evil.  If  at  this  point  the 
human  will  plays  its  proper  part,  the  evil  thought  is 
banished,  and  there  is  no  sin.  But  if  it  be  retained 
until  it  crops  out  into  action,  then  we  become  guilty 
in  the  sight  of  God  and  at  the  bar  of  our  own  con- 
science. We  know  too,  by  experience,  that  while 
temptation  calls  the  mind  into  healthy  action,  and 
is  therefore  a  good  thing,  sin  wrongs  the  soul,  and 
is  hence  a  wicked  thing.  Jesus  was  without  sin,  for 
the  reason  that  the  moment  the  thought  entered 
his  holy  mind  it  was  instantly  repelled.  In  this 
spiritual  sense  we  can  readily  see  how  the  tempta- 
tion to  get  upon  the  ''pinnacle  of  the  temple"  could 
come  and  go  as  quick  as  thought,  and  "  leave  no 
spot  or  blame  behind." 

There  is  a  divine  logic  in  Christ's  temptations 
during  his  forty  days'  stay  in  the  wilderness,  which 
covers  all  the  temptations  to  which  man  is  ex- 
posed. 

First,  he  was  tempted  to  use  his  power  of  working 
miracles  to  a  selfish  end,  for  which  it  was  not  given. 
We,  in  like  manner,  are  often  tempted  to  use  the 
powers  of  body  and  mind  with  which  we  have  been 
blessed,  to  the  accomplishment  of  ends  for  which 
they  were  not  divinely  intended. 

Secondly,  the  evil  thought  of  going  upon  the  pin- 
nacle of  the  temple  and  casting  himself  down  with 
a  view  of  having  the  angels  to  take  charge  of  him, 
was  a  temptation  to  the  sin  of  presumption.  How 
often  we  too  are  tempted  to  presume  upon  the  mer- 


428  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

cies  of  God,  by  expecting  God  to  do  what  we  of 
right  should  do  for  ourselves. 

Thirdly,  the  evil  thought  of  coming  into  possession 
of  the  wealth  of  this  world  by  doing  wrong  was  a 
temptation  to  the  sin  of  covetousness.  In  human 
life  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil. 

Here  we  have  the  three  evil  thoughts  which 
tempted  Jesus:  namely,  a  perversion  of  power,  pre- 
sumption, and  covetousness.  There  is  not  an  evil 
thought  which  enters  the  human  mind  that  may  not 
be  catalogued  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  tempta- 
tions. Hence,  '*  He  was  tempted  in  all  points  like 
as  we  are."  J.    V«-  ^^^^■v^ 

And  how  natural  these  temptations  !  Immediately 
after  having  been  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  he 
sought  seclusion  in  the  wilderness.  There,  under 
the  influence  of  hunger,  the  tempting  thought  came 
to  "  command  that  the  stones  be  made  bread."  And 
how  natural  that  he  should  for  the  moment  reason 
thus :  *'  If  I  am  what  I  have  been  declared  to  be, 
the  Son  of  God,  why  not  convince  the  world  of  my 
heirship,  by  doing  the  striking  thing  of  throwing 
myself  from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple  ?  And,  finally, 
if  the  earth  and  the  fullness  thereof  belong  to  God, 
and  I  am  his  Son,  why  not  at  once  violently  take 
possession  of  what  of  right  belongs  to  me?"  Such, 
as  we  know,  are  the  temptations  to  which  human 
nature  is  exposed,  and  in  this  manner  Christ,  ''being 
touched  with  the  feelings  of  our  infirmities,"  is 
thereby  **  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  429 

It  remains  only  to  be  said,  that  the  apostle,  in 
giving  the  history  of  Christ's  temptation,  evidently 
with  a  view  to  making  it  more  impressive,  especially 
on  the  Jewish  mind,  used  the  term  "devil"  as  per- 
sonifying the  principle  of  evil,  or  evil  thoughts. 
This,  as  we  know,  is  a  liberty  often  taken  by  the 
sacred  writers.  Solomon,  for  example,  speaks  of 
wisdom  as  a  person;  Paul  personifies  love-,  and 
John  talks  of  sin  as  if  it  were  a  personal  master. 


With  regard  to  our  Lord's  reply  to  the  Seventy 
(Luke  x:  18),  **  I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven  :'*  it  will  not  be  urged  that  Jesus  intended 
to  be  understood  as  meaning  a  literal  fall  of  Satan 
from  heaven,  unless  it  may  be  supposed  to  allude  to 
his  primeval  expulsion  ;  but  this  sense  is  scarcely 
relevant  to  the  occasion.  If,  then,  the  literal  sense 
be  necessarily  departed  from,  a  choice  must  be  made 
out  of  the  various  figurative  interpretations  of  which 
the  words  admit.  And  taking  the  word  Satan  here 
in  its  generic  sense,  as  meaning  whatever  is  inimical 
or  opposed  to  the  Gospel,  Jesus  may  be  understood 
to  say,  *'  I  foresaw  the  glorious  results  of  your  mis- 
sion in  the  triumphs  which  would  attend  it  over  the 
most  formidable  obstacles." 

*'  Heaven  is  often  used  in  the  sense  of  political  hori- 
zon (Isa.  xiv  :  12,  13  ;  Matt,  xxiv  :  29).  To  be  cast 
from  heaven  to  hell  is  a  phrase  for  total  downfall 
(Luke  X  :  15  ;  Rev.  xii  :  7-9).     Cicero  says  to  Mark 


430  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

Antony,  *  You  have  hurled  your  colleagues  down 
from  heaven.'  Satan  is  here  used  tropically.  Our 
Lord  does  not,  therefore,  assert  the  real  operation 
of  demons."     (Kitto  under  ''Demoniacs.") 

The  above  suggestions  apply  equally  to  the  pas- 
sage in  Rev.  xii  :  7-9.  To  press  this  passage  into  a 
literal  interpretation  would  be  entirely  out  of  keep- 
ing with  the  universally  conceded  character  of  the 
book.  It  abounds  in  figures  which  must  be  inter- 
preted as  illustrative  of  spiritual  truth. 

At  the  time  of  this  prophecy,  Asia  and  all  the 
known  world  besides  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
universal  peace.  In  this  state  of  comparative 
heaven  the  revelator  foresaw  the  desolating  wars 
which  we  know  soon  changed  this  heaven  of  peace 
into  a  hell  of  war.  In  Asia,  especially,  the  chief 
aim  was  to  exterminate  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Looking  into  the  future,  John  saw  righteousness 
and  wickedness,  or  paganism  and  Christianity,  pit- 
ted against  each  other  in  a  fearful  conflict.  But 
though  the  war  might  wage  long  and  fierce,  as  it 
did,  yet  in  the  distance  he  could  hear  "  a  loud  voice 
saying  in  heaven.  Now  is  come  salvation,  and 
strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  power 
of  his  Christ :  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  [the 
pagan  power]  is  cast  down,  which  accused  them  be- 
fore God  day  and  night." 

This  passage  is  universally  conceded  to  be  a  pro- 
phecy of  a  coming  event  and  not  a  historic  reference 
to  the  past.     Hence  it  cannot  have  the  remotest 


IS   THE   DEVIL   IN    HUMAN   NATURE?  43 1 

reference  to  the  orthodox  Satan  of  primeval  history. 
Such  literal  interpretation  would  break  up  the  har- 
mony and  entirely  destroy  the  meaning  and  beauty 
of  this  apocalyptic  vision. 

PERORATION. 

In  this  chapter  on  Demonology  we  have  sought 
to  cover  the  entire  field  of  thought  on  this  subject, 
as  occupied  by  men  whose  intelligence  entitles  them 
to  respectful  consideration.  In  presenting  our 
views  we  have  not  been  ignorant  of  the  power  of 
preconceived  opinions,  and  the  almost  insurmount- 
able difficulty  of  having  the  majority  of  men  look  at 
a  subject  from  a  new  standpoint.  Nor  have  we 
been  unmindful  of  the  unpopularity  of  the  position 
which  we  have  sought  to  maintain.  From  some 
who  may  read  these  chapters  we  shall  expect 
nothing  but  careless  indifference ;  from  others, 
burlesque  and  the  cry  of  '*  Heresy;"  and  from  still 
others,  who  desire  truth  more  than  popularity,  we 
confidently  anticipate  a  careful  reading  and  an 
honorable  criticism.  We  ask  nothing  more ;  of 
right  we  should  have  nothing  less. 

It  has  been  our  aim  to  give  to  all  the  benefit  of 
an  honest  statement  of  their  position  and  a  just 
criticism  of  their  arguments.  We  have  seen  that 
Satan  is  more  than  a  *'  ghost  of  human  imagination:" 
he  is  a  fearful  reality  with  which  humanity  has  to 
contend.  And  though  in  this  hand-to-hand  struggle 
for  the   mastery  man  has  often   come  out  of  the 


432  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

smoke  and  battle  with  victory  and  the  acquisition 
of  inestimable  wealth,  yet  too  often  he  has  been 
vanquished  and  gone  down  to  disgrace  and  ruin. 
Nor  can  he  ever  stand  at  the  bar  of  Justice  and 
claim  that  the  All-Father  had  permitted  a  Giant 
Monster  to  maraud  over  the  moral  universe  and 
tempt  him  to  his  ruin  ;  but  he  will  stand  self-con- 
demned, his  own  conscience  witnessing  the  truth  of 
inspiration,  saying,  "  Every  man  is  tempted,  when  he 
is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed."  What- 
ever may  be  our  theory,  conscience  will  not  allow 
us  to  charge  our  own  misdeeds  to  the  account  of 
any  devil  other  than  ourselves. 

As  a  personal  monster  of  horrid  form,  we  have 
endeavored  to  trace  his  origin  and  explain  how  he 
grew  to  such  fearful  dimensions  ;  how  that  the  dual- 
ism of  Zoroaster,  having  been  planted  in  the  soil  of 
Jewish  imagination,  had  grown  under  the  influence 
of  ignorance  into  devils  ad  infinitum.  It  was  thus 
that  the  principle  of  Evil  in  the  moral  universe  had 
been  accounted  for  on  the  easy  but  ignorant  sup- 
position of  a  chief  of  devils,  followed  by  a  host 
whose  name  is  ^'  Legion." 

And  though  this  conception  of  demonology, 
which  was  intensified  during  the  dark  ages  of  the 
Church,  came  out  into  the  light  of  the  modern  world 
to  be  handed  down  through  the  influence  of  habits 
of  thought,  yet  the  glory  of  its  former  self  has  been 
consigned  to  the  darkness  of  its  birth  and  the  ignor- 
ance of  its  cradle. 


IS  THE  DEVIL  IN   HUMAN   NATURE?  433 

The  physical  and  mental  phenomena  once  attrib- 
uted to  his  Satanic  majesty  have,  under  the  light  of 
medical  science,  been  catalogued  as  the  legitimate 
results  of  natural  disease. 

The  tempest  which  "  churns  the  ocean,"  and  the 
tornado  which  '*  sweeps  over  the  earth,"  which  ig- 
norance once  attributed  to  the  fact  that  ''Satan  had 
slipped  his  chains,"  arc  known  to  be  governed  by 
the  fixed  laws  of  science. 

Words  in  the  older  translations  of  the  Bible, 
which  were  once  interpreted  as  clearly  teaching  the 
existence  of  an  omnipotent  devil,  have,  under  the 
influence  of  a  higher  criticism  and  the  rules  of  exe- 
gesis more  in  keeping  with  reason,  been  made  to 
harmonize  with  the  soul's  richest  experience  and  the 
thought  of  an  omnipotent  Father. 

Historic  criticism  has  traced  the  heathen  origin 
of  this  Lucifer,  and  shown  how  he  was  "decked  out 
in  the  costume  of  many  different  climes  and  ages," 
so  that  he  is  now  well-nigh  stripped  of  his  plumage, 
and  is  suspended  over  his  open  grave,  into  which  he 
is  being  lowered,  little  by  little,  into  his  final  rest- 
ing-place. And  we  confidently  predict  that  the 
present  advanced  and  the  future  advancing  ages  of 
Christian  civilization  will  cover  him  up  that  he  rise 
no  more  forever.  Amen, 
28 


PART   VI. 
CHRISTOLOGY. 


PREFATORY. 
Was  Jesus  an  Impostor;  a  Fanatic;  or  what  he  professed  to  be? 

Nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  in  the  little, 
obscure,  and  despised  country  of  Galilee,  Jesus, 
with  no  family  prestige,  with  neither  education  nor 
fame,  stood  up  amid  these  forbidding  environments, 
and  startled  his  kinsmen  and  neighbors  with  the 
announcement  that  he  was  the  promised  Messiah. 

He  claimed  to  be  a  minister  from  the  courts  of 
heaven,  bearing  a  message  to  earth.  His  unequivo- 
cal announcement  was,  "I  proceeded  forth  and 
came  from  God ;  neither  came  I  of  myself,  but  he 
sent  me"  (John  viii :  42).  Love  and  pity  for  the  fall- 
en of  our  race  led  him  to  leave  his  home  in  heaven 
and  accept  a  mission  to  our  world.  His  plain  state- 
ment  is,  "  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners" (Matt,  ix:  13). 

As  universal  man  had  rebelled  against  the  laws  of 
his  being  and  was  under  an  acknowledged  state  of 
condemnation,  Jesus,  as  a  messenger  of  God,  came, 
claiming  the  power  of  pardon.  He  claimed  to  have 
"  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins"  (Luke  v  :  24). 


CHRISTOLOGY.  435 

The  '*!,"  the  ''me,"  that  he  called  himself,  he 
claimed  to  be  of  pre-existence.  His  declaration  is, 
'*  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am"  (John  viii  :  58).  In 
the  most  impressive  manner,  and  while  consciously 
standing  in  the  very  presence  of  an  awful  death,  he 
announced  that  his  previous  home  of  glory  had 
been  with  the  great  Father.  In  distinct  memory 
of  his  previous  home,  and  with  conscious  hope  of 
future  blessedness,  in  the  very  face  of  death,  he 
prayed,  ''  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine 
own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  be- 
fore the  world  was"  (John  xvii  :  5). 

This  pre-existent  Christ  which  he  claimed  to  be, 
he  recognized  as  the  Spirit  or  Soul  of  his  fleshly 
tabernacle.  Hence  his  expression,  ''A  body  hast 
thou  prepared  me." 

His  great  heart  of  love  to  God  and  humanity 
throbbed  with  the  single  desire  of  building  up  the 
kingdom  of  God.  ''  Jesus  came  into  Galilee,  preach- 
ing the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (Mark  i  :  14). 
This  kingdom  of  righteousness  he  regarded  as  man's 
supreme  opportunity,  highest  privilege,  and  first  obli- 
gation. Hence  his  injunction,  '*  Seek  ye  first  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  his  righteousness"  (Matt,  vi  :  33). 
When  the  sublime  work  of  laying  the  foundation  of 
a  religion  which  was  destined,  in  the  coming  ages, 
to  unify  all  people  and  bind  all  hearts  back  to  God 
was  accomplished,  he  beheld  with  unclouded  vision 
the  death,  which  he,  knowingly  and  willingly,  was 
to  die,  and  clearly  announced  the  marvelous  fact  of 


436  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

his  resurrection.  "  From  that  time  forth  began 
Jesus  to  shew  unto  his  disciples,  how  that  he  must 
go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many  things  of  the 
elders,  and  chief  priests,  and  scribes,  and  be  killed, 
and  be  raised  again  the  third  day"  (Matt,  xvi  :  21). 

Since  the  world  began,  such  marvelous  announce- 
ments have  never  been  made  by  any  other  man  of 
sane  mind.  The  question  of  all  questions  is,  there- 
fore, Can  such  high  and  unheard-of  claims  to  divin- 
ity of  origin  and  mission  be  established  in  the  light 
of  historic  facts?  While  for  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  years  this  question  has  been  answered  in 
the  affirmative  by  the  purest  minds  and  best  schol- 
arship of  the  ages,  yet,  of  late,  this  citadel  of  our 
faith  and  the  world's  hope  has  been  assailed  by  men 
claiming  to  be  men  of  science,  with  a  view  to  rob- 
bings our  race  of  a  relisrion  that  has  done  more  to 
elevate  the  nations  of  earth  than  all  else  put  to- 
gether. In  the  presence  of  a  high-handed  infidel- 
ity, which  seeks  to  demolish  our  temple  of  hope  for 
this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come,  it  behooves  us 
to  examine  carefully  the  foundation  of  our  faith. 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  claims  which  Jesus 
made  for  himself,  we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  represented  one  of  three  possible  charac- 
ters: Either,  first,  he  was  an  impostor  such  as  the 
world  never  saw  ;  or,  second,  he  was  an  ignorant 
fanatic  without  a  precedent  ;  or,  third,  he  was 
simply  what  he  professed  to  be.  As  coherency  of 
thought  drives  us  to  one  of  these  three  conclusions, 


CHRISTOLOGY.  437 

the  lisfht  of  sound  reason  will  discover  to  us  which 
of  the  three  is  the  more  easy  and  natural  faith. 

(i)  To  believe  that  Jesus  was  an  impostor  is  cre- 
dulity overmuch.  The  assumption  of  such  faith 
carries  with  it  the  absurdity  of  believing  that  a 
gross  deceiver  has  succeeded,  in  the  face  of  a  world 
of  opposition,  in  establishing  a  religion,  the  central 
virtue  of  which  is  "love  to  God  and  love  to  man." 
Moreover,  he  who  assumes  such  proposition  is 
driven  to  the  preposterous  conclusion,  that  an 
"Impostor,"  with  his  hypocritical  pretensions,  has 
done  more  to  rebuke  heathenism  and  elevate  the 
race  than  all  else  put  together.  In  short,  such  faith 
carries  with  it  the  gross  absurdity  of  believing  that 
the  moral  universe  is  constructed  on  a  lie,  and  hence 
that  falsehood  is  the  best  service  we  can  render  hu- 
manity. 

But  while  the  proposition  that  Jesus  was  an 
impostor  was  once  infidelity's  main  line  of  argu- 
ment, it  is  now  almost  entirely  abandoned.  Such 
was  the  general  character  of  his  intellectual  and 
moral  greatness,  and  such  has  been  the  elevating 
influence  of  his  teaching  and  life,  that  the  theory  of 
imposition  is  an  absurdity  too  absurd  to  be  enter- 
tained by  infidels  whose  intelligence  and  honesty 
are  entitled  to  respectful  consideration.  On  the 
subject  of  Christ's  honesty  of  purpose,  "  Thp  Super- 
human Origin  of  the  Bible"  concludes  as  follows: 
*•  But  I  need  say  the  less  on  this  point,  as  it  is  now 
almost  universally  conceded  that  Jesus  Christ  was 


438  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

wholly  incapable  of  any  such  conduct ;  and,  indeed, 
not  a  few  writers  against  Christianity  taunt  its  advo- 
cates with  perpetually  trying  to  prove — what  they 
now  say  nobody  denies — that  it  is  not  a  forgery,  and 
that  Christ  is  not  an  impostor ;  though,  in  fact,  this 
was  long  the  favorite  theory  of  skepticism,  and  is  even 
now  partly  resorted  to  by  Renan  and  Strauss,  who, 
in  the  difficult  task  of  accounting  for  everything  by 
myth,  feel  that  it  may  be  as  well  not  wholly  to 
reject  it.  They  forget  that,  if  it  be  not  rejected 
wholly,  it  may  as  well  be  accepted  altogether ;  for, 
as  the  subject  of  the  great  controversy  says,  *  He  who 
is  unfaithful  in  the  least  is  unfaithful  also  in  much  ;* 
and  if  Christ  cheated  the  world  at  all,  it  is  impossible 
to  say  how  far." 

But  when  enlightened  and  honest  skepticism,  if 
such  an  anomaly  exists,  concedes  that  Jesus  was 
honorable  in  purpose  and  of  superior,  or  even  of 
common,  intelligence,  it  well-nigh  consents  to  the 
proposition  that  he  was  what  he  professed  to  be. 
This  may  be  further  seen  by  examining  the  ques- 
tion : 

(2)  Was  Christ  an  Ignorant  Fanatic? 

If  the  most  unequivocal  words  on  the  part  of 
Jesus  himself,  and  the  universal  testimony  of  his 
disciples  who  attended  upon  his  ministry,  are  to  be 
accepted  as  evidence,  then  certainly  no  historic  fact 
has  been  more  fully  established  than  that  Christ 
professed  to  do  marvelous  things  in  attestation  of 
the  divinity  of  his  mission. 


CHRISTOLOGY.  439 

Having  dismissed  the  theory  that  Jesus  was  an 
impostor,  as  being  too  absurd  to  be  entertained 
even  by  serious  and  intelligent  skepticism,  we  are 
left  with  nothing  further  to  do  but  to  show  that 
Christ  must  have  understood  the  method  or  power 
by  which  he  did  those  superhuman  acts. 

Having  abandoned  the  position  of  intentional 
imposition  on  the  part  of  Jesus,  the  skepticism 
which  is  entitled  to  any  decent  respect  has  assumed 
that  the  miraculous  character  of  Christianity  was  an 
after-thought  in  the  mind  of  its  founder.  When 
Jesus  first  began  his  ministry,  as  claimed  by  Renan, 
he  had  not  the  remotest  thought  of  the  super- 
natural, but  gradually  drifted,  under  the  force  of 
circumstances,  into  the  belief  that  he  was  possessed 
of  a  miraculous  power.  "Jesus  had  therefore  to 
choose  between  these  two  alternatives,"  says  Renan, 
"either  to  renounce  his  mission  or  become  a  won- 
der-worker." 

Is  it  possible  to  suppose  that  Jesus  was  so  far 
carried  away  with  the  importance  of  "  his  mission" 
as  to  be  a  "  wonder-worker"  in  belief,  and  not  in 
fact  ?  Can  we  think  of  a  man  of  the  exalted  moral 
character  ascribed  to  him  by  the  author  last  quoted, 
as  professing  to  raise  the  dead,  when  in  point  of 
fact  it  was  but  a  veritable  sham  ?  Or  can  we 
imagine  a  being  of  such  conceded  intelligence,  pre- 
tending to  do  a  thing  of  that  kind  and  yet  not 
understanding  the  method  by  which  it  was  done  ? 
Can  we  conceive  of  a  successful  juggler  not  under- 


440  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

standing  the  methods  of  his  juggh'ng?  Viewing 
the  intelHgence  of  Christ  from  an  infidel  standpoint, 
we  aver  that  it  is  not  possible  in  the  nature  of  things 
for  us  to  reasonably  conclude  that  Jesus  becomes 
a  "  wonder-worker "  without  understanding,  firsts 
whether  the  wonderful  thing  was  a  myth  or  a  ver- 
ity. If  it  was  a  fiction  imposed  upon  the  credulous 
as  a  fact,  then  Jesus  was  an  impostor;  but  this,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  a  position  that  none  will  assume. 
Nor  is  it  possible,  in  the  second  place,  to  believe  that 
Jesus  failed  to  understand  the  power  by  which  the 
marvelous  deed  was  accomplished.  Take  the  case  of 
Lazarus,  whom  Jesus  is  reported  to  have  raised 
from  the  dead.  This  reputed  phenomenon  was 
either  a  fact  or  a  falsehood.  If  a  verity,  Jesus  knew 
it  ;  if  a  h}'pocritical  imposition,  he  was  equally  ap- 
prised of  that.  But  it  is  granted  that  he  was  not 
an  impostor,  therefore  the  reported  event  was  a 
fact,  else  Jesus  displayed  a  degree  of  mental  stupid- 
ity so  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  his  conceded 
intelligence,  that  to  believe  it  is  to  believe  the 
greater  miracle. 

(3)  As  fair  reasoning  shows, — what  receives  now 
an  almost  universal  consent, — that  Jesus  was  not 
an  impostor,  nor  yet  ignorant  of  what  he  professed 
to  do,  nor  of  the  power  by  which  he  became  a 
"wonder-worker,"  we  are  led  to  conclude  that  "he 
was  simply  what  he  professed  to  be."  In  this  con- 
nection we  need  only  inquire  into  his  pretensions. 


CIIRISTOLOGY.  441 

Having  announced  his  heavenly  mission,  Divinity 
of  origin,  and  Spirit  nature,  he  challenged  the 
world's  faith  then,  as  he  does  now,  on  no  other 
grounds  than  that  of  the  attestation  of  the  Infinite. 
He  says,  "The  words  that  I  speak  I  speak  not  of 
myself:  but  the  Father,  that  dwelleth  in  me,  he 
doeth  the  works"  (John  xiv  :  10) ;  and  again,  '*  The 
works  that  I  do  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the  Father 
hath  sent  me"  (John  v  :  T)6). 

That  Jesus  claimed  to  be  the  Christ  of  prophecy 
is   clearly   shown    in    his    unequivocal    reply    to    a 
pointed  question.     John  the  Baptist,  a  greater  than 
whom  had  not  been  ''  born  of   woman,"  who,  as  the 
forerunner  of  Christ,  had   preached   repentance  and 
righteousness  according  to  the  Jewish  law  and  from 
the  light   of  nature,  had  witnessed  enough  to  con- 
vince him   that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.     But  having 
been    thrust  into  prison  he   became    harassed  with 
doubts,  to   dispel  which  "  he  sent  by  his   disciples, 
and    said    unto    him     [Jesus],    Art    thou    he    that 
cometh,  or   look   we    for  another?"  (Matt,  xi  :  3). 
This    is   a    pointed    question,   made   by   an    honest 
man,  and  one  for  whom  Jesus  had  the  highest  re- 
gard.    \Ve  cannot  suppose  that  he  would  vacillate, 
much  less  give  a  deceptive  answer.     His  reply  was, 
♦*  Go   your  way  and   tell  John   the  things  which  ye 
do  hear  and  see:   the  blind   receive  their  sight,  and 
the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf 
hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have 
good   tidings  preached    to  them"   (Matt,  xi  :   2-5). 


442  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

To  concede,  as  the  most  intelligent  skeptics  do,  that 
Jesus  was  possessed  of  superior  moral  and  intel- 
lectual greatness,  and  then,  in  the  face  of  this  con- 
cession, to  claim  that  these  marvelous  works 
pointed  to  by  this  "  wonder-worker,"  as  proof  that 
he  was  the  Messiah,  were  not  veritable  transactions, 
but  only  mythical  fabrications,  is  an  incoherency 
devoid  of  all  sound  reason. 

To  further  illustrate  beyond  reasonable  contro- 
versy that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  of  prophecy,  whose 
divinity  of  mission  was  to  speak  as  never  man 
spoke,  to  do  that  which  no  man  can  do  except  God 
be  with  him,  and  to  knowingly  and  willingly  die 
for  the  salvation  of  our  race,  will  be  the  aim  of  the 
following  chapters. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

CHRIST'S  TEACHING. 

(I)  What?— (II)  Why?— (Ill)   How?— His  plainness   of  speech; 
moral  heroism;  independence;  sympathy. 

If  we  would  clearly  discover  Christ's  divinity  of 
character  and  mission,  as  indicated  in  his  teaching, 
we  must  seek  an  answer  to  the  following  questions : 

SECTION  (i). 

W/zat  did  Jesus  teach  ? 

Not  "  everything  in  general  and  nothing  in  par- 
ticular."    His  was  not  an  aimless  and  pointless  dis- 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  443 

sertation,  but  rather  a  fixed  and  definite  purpose. 
And  this  fixedness  of  purpose  was  far  beyond  and 
above  that  of  teaching  history,  biography,  art,  sci- 
ence, and  literature.  If  Christ  was  a  divinity  in 
wisdom,  and  if  a  knowledge  of  these  things  tends 
largely  to  the  civilization  of  our  race,  and  since  the 
themes  of  history,  biography,  art,  science,  and  litera- 
ture have  claimed  the  earnest  attention  of  the  wisest 
and  best  of  men  of  all  ages,  why,  it  may  be  asked, 
did  not  Jesus  pause  and  at  least  give  a  key  to  them  ? 
The  answer  presents  him  in  his  superhuman  charac- 
ter. 

Had  he  taught  those  things,  however  perfectly, 
which  men  can  discover  and  successfully  teach,  then 
in  the  selection  of  his  themes  he  would  have  given 
no  exhibition  of  his  marvelous  wisdom.  But  leav- 
ing those  subjects  which  come  within  the  scope  of 
human  understanding,  and  ascending  to  a  region  of 
thought  beyond  and  above  finite  reach,  and  taking 
hold  of  those  sublimer  themes  of  God^  duty,  and 
destiny,  with  which  the  world's  wisdom  had  grappled 
for  four  thousand  years  only  to  make  darkness  more 
visible  and  confusion  worse  confounded,  and  so  ex- 
plaining and  amplifying  them  that  the  accumulated 
scholarship  of  near  two  thousand  years  has  not  been 
able  to  add  one  solitary  new  thought — he  gives  the 
world  a  grand  exhibition  of  his  superhuman  wisdom. 
If  the  infinite  thought  can  only  be  observed  where 
the  finite  has  shown  itself  utterly  inadequate  to  the 
task,  if  "  man's   extremity  is    God's  opportunity," 


444  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

then  may  the  supernatural  in  Christ  be  seen  in  the 
choice  of  his  themes  and  the  clearness  and  absolute 
perfection  of  their  presentation. 

Moreover,  as  neither  natural  nor  metaphysical 
science  was  taught  by  Christ,  either  in  whole  or 
even  in  part,  it  would  seem  that  the  divine  teacher 
anticipated  the  compass  of  man's  thought,  and  left 
him  to  teach  all  that  he  was  capable  of  teaching. 
Thus,  knowing  that  the  science  of  astronomy,  which 
has  done  so  much  by  way  of  revealing  the  infinite 
wisdom  and  power  of  God,  might  be  taught  by  such 
men  as  Newton  and  La  Place,  who,  without  inspira- 
tion, can  measure  the  distance  to  the  stars,  count 
their  numbers  and  give  them  titles,  as  the  husband- 
man can  number  his  flocks  and  call  their  names,  he 
left  the  work  to  them. 

Measuring  finite  capacity,  he  knew  that  the  science 
of  geology,  the  discovery  and  teaching  of  which  has 
so  clearly  revealed  God's  wisdom  and  benevolent 
painstaking  in  fitting  up  the  world  for  man's  occu- 
pancy, might  be  discovered  and  taught  by  such  men 
as  Hitchcock,  Hugh  Miller,  and  Charles  Lyell,  who, 
claiming  no  inspiration  save  that  which  God  gives 
to  every  honest  seeker  after  truth,  have  brought  to 
light  the  "  Footprints  of  the  Creator,"  and  shown 
his  infinite  storehouse  of  benevolent  design  to  the 
children  of  his  care. 

Chemistry,  a  science  which  demonstrates  the 
unity  of  the  universe  and  the  consequent  unity  of 
God,  was  well  left  by  the  great  Teacher  to  such  men 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  445 

as  Priestley,  Llebig,  and  Faraday,  who  can  tell  us 
not  only  the  number  and  quality  of  the  elements  of 
which  our  earth  is  composed,  but  even  those  of 
which  the  sun  is  made. 

The  same  might  be  said  of  all  the  natural  sciences, 
and  the  metaphysical  as  well.  Mathematics,  which 
is  purely  ideal  and  hence  purely  metaphysical,  and 
which  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  all  exact  knowl- 
edge, was  wisely  left  to  the  hands  of  such  a  man  as 
Isaac  Newton,  who  could  calculate  the  distances  of 
heavenly  bodies,  and  give  their  orbits,  size,  and  the 
period  of  their  revolutions. 

So  with  the  fine  arts, — poetry,  music,  painting, 
sculpture,  and  the  like, — the  Great  Teacher,  with 
the  same  wisdom,  left  the  world  to  be  taught  them 
and  to  be  gratified  with  their  products,  by  the  great 
men  the  renown  of  whose  genius  now  fills  the 
annals  of  the  world. 

In  short,  Christ,  taking  in  the  full  measure  of 
man's  capacity,  left  him  to  teach  all  that  he  was 
capable  of  teaching,  and  planned  that  divinity 
should  begin  where  the  limitations  of  humanity 
compel  man  to  leave  off. 

In  the  light  of  history  Ave  aver  that  the  world, 
with  all  its  ability  to  acquire  wisdom,  had  proven 
itself  utterly  incapable  of  knowing  God  and  the  duty 
and  destiny  of  man.  These  are  the  themes,  and  the 
only  themes,  that  claimed  the  attention  of  Christ 
during  his  earthly  ministry.  Study  his  three  years 
of  public  teaching  and  you  will  observe  that  in  it  all 


44^  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

there  is  not  a  truth  that  he  ever  uttered  that  may 
not  be  properly  classed  under  one  of  the  three 
heads  of  Deity,  Duty,  Destiny.  In  the  selection  of 
these  themes  of  discourse,  Jesus  chose  such  only  as 
were  indispensable  to  the  highest  welfare  of  man 
and  the  highest  form  of  civilization.  That  a  peo- 
ple's ignorance  of  these  three  subjects  is  the  measure 
of  their  degradation,  is  a  fact  patent  upon  every 
page  of  history.  If  you  would  know,  with  almost 
mathematical  exactness,  the  degree  of  civilization  to 
which  a  race  of  people  has  attained,  you  have  only 
to  ascertain  the  views  which  are  entertained  touch- 
ing the  character  and  requirements  of  God,  and  the 
relationship  and  consequent  duties  of  man.  This 
fact  of  history  being  conceded,  and  certainly  none  are 
so  skeptical  as  to  deny  it,  with  the  further  fact  that 
the  world's  wisdom  had  failed  to  comprehend  these 
three  themes,  which  is  equally  obvious,  and  we  have 
a  strong  argument,  a  priori,  in  favor  of  divine  inter- 
position. That  Divinity  did  interpose  may  be 
further  discovered  in  truthfully  answering  the 
second  question : 

SECTION  (ll). 
Why  did  Jesus  teach  ? 

The  absolute  necessity  of  some  superhuman  ut- 
terance upon  these  three  themes  of  God,  duty,  and 
destiny,  may  be  clearly  seen  in  the  fact  that  the 
world's  wisdom    was    drifting  farther  and   farther 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  447 

from  the  exalted  and  exalting  conception  of  one  in- 
finitely supreme  Being  of  absolute  holiness  of  char- 
acter, who  is  the  Father  of  all  people,  and  who  re- 
quires filial  obedience  to  that  one  law  which  com- 
prehends all  law,  viz.,  that  of  ''  love  to  God  and  love 
to  mankind."  The  man  who  does  not  know  that 
strict  obedience  to  this  one  law  of  *'  love  to  God 
and  love  to  man"  will  lead  into  the  path  of  all  duty, 
make  life's  labor  a  joy,  and  bring  the  soul  into  bliss- 
ful harmony  with  itself,  and  with  God's  universe  be- 
sides, is  an  utter  stranger  to  man's  possible  and 
richest  experience. 

A  mere  glance  at  the  moral  and  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  world  at  the  time  Christ  began  his  min- 
istry will  convince  any  candid  reader  that  the  world, 
with  all  its  wisdom,  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  sub- 
limity, joy,  and  elevating  influence  of  a  law  the 
first  requirement  of  which  was  that  universal  man 
should  learn  to  love  the  Supreme  Excellence.  Nor 
need  we  study  long  the  words  of  the  Divine  Teacher 
without  discovering  that  the  great  burden  of  his 
theme  was  the  "  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man."  Christ's  ''  sermon  on  the  mount'' 
was  an  epitome  of  all  that  he  taught;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  observation  that  in  this  sermon  alone 
there  is  truth  enough,  touching  men's  relationship 
to  God  as  their  Father  and  mankind  as  their  breth- 
ren, and  the  obligations  that  are  imposed  because 
of  these  sacred  relationships,  to  civilize  our  race  and 
save  our  world,  though  all  else  of  moral  and  relig- 


448  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ious  truth  were  sunk  to  the  depths  of  the  sea.  In 
that  sermon,  as  well  as  in  the  life  and  spirit  of  its 
divine  Author,  God's  fatherly  providence  is  clearly 
set  forth  as  extending  to  all  upon  whom  "he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise"  and  to  whom  he  "sendeth 
rain."  This  doctrine  of  the  universal  fatherhood  of 
God  flashed  upon  the  world  as  light  from  out  of  the 
darkness,  and  was  as  foreign  to  Jewish  bigotry  as  it 
was  to  Gentile  selfishness.  For  at  least  four  thousand 
years  humanity  had  gone  about  with  its  feeble  taper 
surrounded  by  palpable  darkness.  Each  nation, 
tribe,  or  clique  regarded  itself  as  under  special  provi- 
dential care,  while  all  others  were  at  best  but  father- 
less children.  This  divine  representation  of  God  as 
universal  Father  was  as  new  to  the  world  as  it  is  now 
known  to  be  indispensable  to  the  unification  of  all 
peoples  and  the  highest  good  of  mankind. 

In  answer  to  the  question  "  Why  did  Jesus  teach  ?" 
we  summarize  thus: 

First.  The  world  was  ignorant  of  the  true  moral 
attributes  of  God.  Human  wisdom,  at  best,  had 
only  attained  to  a  partial  knowledge  of  a  one-sided 
Deity. 

Outside  of  the  Jewish  nation,  if  a  medal  had  been 
struck  representing  the  world's  best  conception  of 
God,  on  the  one  side  there  would  have  been  en- 
graven the  words  *' Omnipotence,  Omniscience,  Om- 
nipresence ;"  on  the  other  side, '*  Wrath,  Revenge, 
Caprice."  Even  the  Jews  had  no  conception  of  the 
absolute  fatherhood  of  God.     In  their  minds,  they 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  449 

were  his  only  children.  In  the  divine  plan  of  saving 
the  race,  it  would  seem  that  the  Jewish  nation  and 
the  Old  Testament  had  filled  their  mission  when, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  they  had  fully  established 
the  foundation  truth  of  ''  One  God,"  while  the  reve- 
lation of  the  fatherly  character  of  that  Infinite  One 
was  deferred  to  Christ  and  the  New  Testament.  In 
the  Divine  Teacher's  unmistakable  words,  purity  of 
life,  and  loveliness  of  spirit,  we  behold  the  fatherly 
character  of  God,  and  we  are  ready  to  exclaim, 
*'  Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power  be  unto 
Him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever." 

Secondly.  The  world  was  equally  ignorant  of  the 
true  religion.  Regarding  the  "  Omnipotent  and 
Omniscient"  as  wrathful,  revengeful,  and  capricious, 
they  sought  to  appease  his  wrath,  subdue  his  re- 
venge, and  turn  his  caprice  to  selfish  advantage,  by 
self-torture,  or  by  making  the  most  costly  sacrifices, 
even  that  of  a  child,  upon  the  altar  of  their  devotion. 
The  blessed  mission  of  Jesus  was  to  roll  from  the 
shoulders  of  the  world  this  intolerable  burden  of 
worship,  and  give  to  our  humanity  a  religion  in 
which  the  only  acceptable  sacrifice  is  2.  grateful  and 
contrite  heart.  Christ's  religion  is  not  merely  an 
outward  life,  much  less  is  it  a  theory  of  the  head  ; 
but  it  is  nothing  less,  as  it  need  be  nothing  more, 
than  the  spirit  of  the  heavenly  Father  dwelling  in  the 
soul,  and  formulating  itself  in  the  life.    The  religion 

of  Christ,  unlike  any  other  religion  of  the  world,  seeks 
29 


450  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

to  purify  the  heart,  "  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of 
life,"  by  the  incoming  spirit  of  love,  that  from  this 
purified  fountain  there  might  flow  knowledge,  tem- 
perance, patience,  godliness,  brotherly-kindness,  and 
charity. 

Thirdly.  Nor  did  the  world's  knowledge  compre- 
hend a  system  of  moral  science  such  as  was  adapted 
to  the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  such  as  would  be  most 
helpful  to  mankind.  FaiHng  to  recognize  God  as  a 
being  of  love, — emphatically  Love  as  he  is  emphati- 
cally God, — and  hence  as  possessed  of  a  fatherly  re- 
gard for  all  his  intelligent  creatures,  they  of  neces- 
sity had  no  conception  of  filial  obligations.  And 
having  no  knowledge  of  the  Father's  benevolent  re- 
gard for  his  children,  it  was  not  possible,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  for  them  to  comprehend  the  rela- 
tionship of  mankind,  and  the  obligations  thus  im- 
posed. 

Even  if  it  be  claimed  that  human  philosophy 
before  the  time  of  Christ  had  suggested  the  "  golden 
rule,"  it  should  be  observed  that  it  was  only  sug- 
gested as  a  law  of  expediency,  and  in  a  negative 
form,  enjoining  merely  to  refrain  from  harm,  and  not 
as  a  spontaneity  of  positive  good  flowing  from  a 
heart  of  love  to  God  and  man.  While  human  phi- 
losophy, at  best,  only  legislated  for  the  overt  act, 
Christ  went  to  the  root  of  all  evil  as  well  as  of  all 
good,  to  correct  the  motive  by  inspiring  the  soul 
with  such  faith  in  God  and  man  as  would  induce  the 
incoming  spirit  of  love,  whose  benevolent  outgoings 


CHRIST'S  TEACHING.  45 1 

would  unbiddingly  observe  the  divine  injunction, 
'*  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them." 

With  the  view  of  protecting  man  in  his  natural 
rights,  the  world's  best  wisdom  has  used  only  such 
instrumentalities  as  were  at  its  command,  and  hence 
of  necessity  worked  at  the  wrong  end  of  human  ac- 
tions. It  was  humanly  impossible  to  enter  the  inner 
courts  of  the  soul  and  legislate  for  the  motives  of 
human  action,  and  much  less  to  import  into  the 
heart  the  spirit  of  "  love,  which  worketh  no  ill  to  his 
neighbour."  Christ's  divinity  of  teaching  is  seen  in 
the  fact  that,  ignoring  the  human  effort  to  cleanse 
the  streams  of  human  life,  he  sought  only  to  purify 
the  fountain.  Having  thus  divinely  entered  the 
inner  courts  of  the  soul  to  legislate  for  its  outgoing 
life,  the  benevolent  results  are  as  wide-spread  as  is 
our  Christian  civilization.  The  "  Christian  Commis- 
sions," "  Christian  Aid  Societies,"  "  Homes  for 
Fatherless  Children,"  the  organization  of  "Societies 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals"  and  ^'  So- 
cieties for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children," 
"Free  Christian  Kindergartens,"  the  elevation  of 
women  to  equality  with  men,  in  short,  all  the  public 
and  private  beneficences  of  civilization,  are  but  the 
outgrowth  of  this  divine  implantation. 

Reason,  looking  at  history  as  it  is,  cannot  fail  to 
clearly  mark  the  distinction  between  the  ethics  and 
religion  taught  by  Christ  and  those  of  all  other 
systems,  as  being  an  absolute  distinction  of   kind, 


452  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

and  not  one  merely  of  degree.  Man's  kinship  to 
God,  as  taught  by  Jesus,  is  strongly  suggestive  of 
the  soul's  heirship  to  immortality.  But  as  the 
Saviour's  teaching  on  this  sublime  theme  is  set  forth 
in  our  book  entitled  "  Heavenly  Recognition," 
nothinof  need  be  said  in  this  connection  as  to  the 
fact  that  he  *'  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light 
in  the  gospel." 

Christ's  superhuman  wisdo.ii  as  a  teacher  will  be 
further  illustrated  in  answering  the  third  question. 

SECTION  (ill). 
How  did  Jesus  teach  ? 

Christ's  methods  of  instruction  were  as  peculiarly 
his  own,  and  as  marvelous  in  themselves,  as  were 
his  themes  of  discourse  and  the  absolute  perfectness 
of  their  presentation.  As  he  made  choice  of  only 
such  subjects  as  history  shows  to  have  been  beyond 
human  grasp,  and  so  explained  them  as  that  the 
light  of  the  ages  has  reflected  no  new  luster,  so  did 
he  make  choice  of  such  modes  of  enlightenment  as 
man  could  not  attain  to,  much  less  improve  upon. 
His  was  a  plainness  of  speech  without  a  precedent 
and  a  boldness  of  utterance  unequaled.  Without 
the  slightest  ostentation,  he  was  ei.wirely  independ- 
ent of  education,  books,  teachers,  and  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. He  was  not  a  mirror  reflecting  the 
accumulated  light  of  preceding  ages,  nor  did  he, 
like  "  coming  events,"  merely  '*  cast  a  shadow  be- 
fore" him,  but  his  teaching  flashed  upon  the  world 


CHRIST  S   TEACHING.  453 

as  a  full-orbed  sun,  whose  moral  and  religious  light 
was  destined  to  dispel  the  darkness  that  had  settled 
down  upon  our  benighted  race.  Let  us  illustrate 
this  thought. 

{a)  Chris fs  Plamness  of  Speech, 

Though  speaking  in  one  of  the  oriental  tongues, 
which  usually  abound  in  florid  figures  and  hyper- 
boles, such  was  the  analogy  between  his  beautiful 
and  numerous  parables  and  the  spiritual  truths 
which  they  were  designed  to  inculcate,  that  we, 
with  all  our  cold,  western  matter-of-fact  style  of 
speech,  find  no  difficulties  in  understanding  the  moral 
and  religious  truths,  which,  with  the  view  of  trans- 
porting them  to  all  people  and  handing  them  down 
to  the  remotest  ages,  were  clothed  in  allegory  such 
as  human  speech  has  never  equaled.  For  example, 
Jesus  desiring  to  illustrate  the  arrogant  spirit  in 
which  men  stray  away  from  God, — the  inevitable 
disaster  that  such  a  course  will  bring  upon  the  im- 
penitent, the  disposition  with  which  men  must  return 
to  the  Father's  house,  and  the  unspeakably  joyous 
reception  that  they  may  expect  on  their  happy  re- 
turn— institutes  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son, 
the  analogy  of  which  is  complete  throughout. 

To  convince  the  bigoted  Jew  that  his  mission  to 
earth  was  to  save  penitent  sinners,  of  whatever 
nationality,  and  that  the  event  of  saving  one  sinner 
would  fill  all  heaven  with  joy,  he  presents  the  im- 
pressive picture  of  the  *'  lost  sheep." 


454  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Desiring  to  illustrate  to  all  peoples  and  to  all 
times  the  rich  and  boundless  provisions  which  the 
Father  has  made  to  satisfy  the  necessities  and 
aspirations  of  every  human  soul,  the  messengers 
whom  he  has  sent  abroad,  charged  with  the  duty  of 
inviting  each  and  all,  the  careless  and  sinful  indiffer- 
ence with  which  many  men  treat  God's  fatherly 
invitations  of  grace,  and  the  fearful  destruction  that 
inevitably  awaits  the  finally  impenitent,  Christ 
institutes  that  perfectly  analogous  parable  of  the 
"  marriage  of  the  king's  son." 

Standing  in  the  midst  of  his  timid  disciples,  who 
were  on  the  eve  of  making  an  inglorious  retreat, 
and  looking  into  the  very  face  of  a  most  horrible 
death,  Jesus,  with  his  prophetic  vision,  looks 
through  the  darkness  and  down  through  the  ages, 
and  beholds  the  time  when  his  righteousness  should 
fill  the  earth,  and  his  kingdom  would  stretch  from 
ocean  to  ocean.  To  illustrate  this  coming  glory  of 
his  Church,  much  of  which  we  have  lived  to  see, 
Jesus,  knowing  the  end  from  the  beginning,  insti- 
tutes the  parable  of  the  mustard-seed,  and  that  of 
the  leaven  which  ceased  not  its  transforming 
power  until  '*  the  whole  was  leavened.'*  The  above 
will  suffice  to  illustrate  his  plainness  of  speech. 

Who  can  read  any  of  those  beautiful  parables 
with  a  teachable  spirit,  and  then  placard  his  stupid- 
ity by  professing  to  be  ignorant  as  to  the  spiritual 
truths  which  they  are  designed  to  present? 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  the  divine  wis- 


CHRIST  S   TEACHING.  455 

dom  of  Jesus  in  this  method  of  speech  may  be 
seen  in  that  his  choice  of  a  parable  selected  that 
which  is  as  perfectly  analogous  to  the  thing  set 
forth  as  is  possible  between  natural  facts  and  spiri- 
tual truth. 

{b)  Chrisfs  Moral  Heroism. 

With  gentleness  and  love,  he  delivered  his  mes- 
sage in  a  manner  characteristic  of  either  a  madman 
or  a  Divinity.  Who  can  read  the  twenty-third 
chapter  of  Matthew,  in  which  is  recorded  the  dread- 
ful woes  which  Christ  pronounced  against  that 
multitude  of  hypocritical  Jews,  and  take  in  the 
historic  facts  with  which  he  was  surrounded,  and 
not  witness  in  him  a  spirit  of  moral  heroism,  such 
as  is  marvelously  incomparable  with  that  of  other 
great  teachers?  Cassius  M.  Clay  belongs  to  a  class 
of  moral  heroes  of  which  the  world  has  produced 
but  few.  With  a  courage  undaunted  he  would 
mount  the  rostrum,  and,  with  the  Bible  on  the  one 
hand  and  a  pistol  on  the  other,  would  hurl  his  de- 
nunciations at  the  vile  institution  of  slavery,  regard- 
less of  the  threats  of  the  slave-oligarchy.  But  this 
fearless  spirit  was  kept  alive  by  the  fact  that  he 
knew  that,  besides  thousands  of  friends  in  the 
South,  the  mighty  public  pulse  of  the  North  was 
beating  in  unison  with  his  great  heart  of  human 
sympathy.  But  when  Christ  was  hurling  his  an- 
athemas at   the  hypocritical    '*  scribes    and   Phari- 


456  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

sees  "  he  had  no  available  friends  among  the  Jews, 
nor  the  slightest  sympathy  from  the  Gentile  world. 

It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  mortal  man  has  ever 
been  able  to  read  those  fearful  denunciations  with 
the  tone  and  spirit  in  which  the  Divine  Teacher 
uttered  them.  While  they  were  doubtless  spoken 
with  undaunted  firmness,  that  his  great  heart  of 
love  was  overflowing  with  sympathy  is  made  ap- 
parent in  his  closing  words  of  lamentation  over  the 
fate  of  Jerusalem. 

But  to  be  convinced  that  he  was  either  a  mad- 
man or  a  Divinity,  we  need  only  to  take  the  ac- 
count of  his  visit  to  Jerusalem  a  stranger  at  the 
first  passover  after  entering  on  his  public  mission, 
when,  on  entering  the  great  Temple,  he  found  the 
wealthy  and  influential  of  the  city  engaged  in 
commercial  speculation  on  the  sacred  ground. 

The  simple  recital,  as  given  in  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion, is  this:  ''And  he  found  in  the  temple  those 
that  sold  oxen  and  sheep  and  doves,  and  the  chang- 
ers of  money  sitting:  and  he  made  a  scourge  of 
cords,  and  cast  all  out  of  the  temple,  both  the  sheep 
and  the  oxen  ;  and  he  poured  out  the  changers' 
money,  and  overthrew  their  tables  ;  and  to  them 
that  sold  the  doves  he  said.  Take  these  things  hence  ; 
make  not  my  Father's  house  a  house  of  merchan- 
dise" (John  ii  :  14-16). 

In  the  common  version  the  fifteenth  verse  reads, 
"He  drove  them  all  out  of  the  temple,  and  the 
sheep,  and  the  oxen."     The  skepticism  which  seeks 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  457 

to  reflect  upon  the  moral  character  of  Jesus  has 
seized  upon  the  older  version  and  interpreted  it  to 
mean  that  he,  violently  and  unlawfully,  with  his 
scourge  of  small  cords,  drove  all  the  tradesmen  out 
of  the  temple ;  and  some  declare  that  he  should 
have  been  arrested  as  violating  the  peace,  found 
guilty  of  assault,  and  punished  accordingly. 

Now,  in  regard  to  this  we  have  to  say:  First.  This 
is  characteristic  of  much  of  the  skeptical  criticism 
— not  to  meet  the  Scriptures  on  fair  ground  and  in 
their  obvious  sense,  but  to  misconstrue  or  seize  on 
somebody  else's  misconstruction,  and  then  aim  their 
shafts  at  the  misconstruction. 

Secondly.  Even  if  it  could  be  shown  that  the 
scourge  was  used  in  driving  out  the  men,  it  would 
not  reflect  upon  the  moral  character  of  Jesus  unless 
it  is  claimed  that  he  was  acting  on  his  own  author- 
ity, merely  as  a  man,  and  not  on  divine  authority. 
To  claim  the  former  is  to  **  beg  the  question"  at 
issue  ;  but  if  he  was  acting  from  superhuman  author- 
ity and  wisdom,  as  he  claimed  to  be,  inasmuch  as 
the  men  were  polluting  the  temple  of  his  Father,  no 
one  can  dispute  his  right  to  adopt  his  own  method 
of  ridding  it  of  the  pollution. 

But  the  scourge  was  used  only  in  driving  out 
"  both  the  sheep  and  the  oxen."  And  there  is  no 
indication  that,  even  in  this,  it  was  used  with  any 
severity,  but  only  as  would  be  usual  in  accomplish- 
ing the  end  of  getting  them  out  of  the  temple. 

But,  in  any  case,  it  was  an  extraordinary  assump- 


458  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

tion  of  authority.  Was  it  an  unwarranted  assump- 
tion? The  skeptic  says  it  was.  He  must  say  this 
if  he  would  reflect  at  all  upon  the  character  of  Jesus. 
But  hereby,  in  his  blind  zeal,  he  confronts  himself 
with  two  questions,  the  answer  to  either  of  which 
will  prove  the  truth  of  the  proposition  he  seeks  to 
deny. 

First.  By  what  power  did  Jesus  do  these  things? 
Certainly,  no  one  can  in  reason  believe  that  a  stran- 
ger, from  the  despised  country  of  Galilee,  coming  to 
the  renowned  city  of  Jerusalem,  could  enter  the  mag- 
nificent temple,  and,  single-handed  and  alone,  with 
no  weapons  but  the  scourge  of  small  cords  made  by 
himself,  be  successful  in  pitting  himself  against 
the  "  board  of  trade,"  backed  by  the  authority  of 
the  temple  and  the  city  besides.  The  facts  carry 
with  them  the  belief  that  Jesus  was  superhuman. 

Second.  Why  was  he  not  arrested  and  pun- 
ished? It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Jesus,  as 
merely  a  man,  in  defiance  of  law,  could  have  done 
these  things  without  paying  the  penalty  of  his  of- 
fense. The  only  explanation  is,  that  all  parties 
were  convinced  of  the  justice  and  righteousness  of 
his  acts,  and  overawed  and  made  powerless  against 
him  by  the  evident  divinity  manifest  in  his  bearing, 
words,  and  authority. 

Similarly,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  the  chief 
priests  and  Pharisees  sent  officers  to  take  him.  The 
officers  went ;  but  after  listening  for  a  while  to  his 
wonderful  words  as  he  taught  the  people,  and  to  his 


CHRIST'S  TEACHING.  459 

declarations  of  what  he  came  to  do  for  man,  they  re- 
turned without  him.  To  the  question,  *'  Why  have 
ye  not  brought  him  ?"  they  only  answered,  "  Never 
man  spake  like  this  man." 

But  the  special  point  to  be  noted  in  this  occur- 
rence is  the  Moral  Heroism  exhibited.  Jesus,  as  we 
have  said,  was  from  the  unpopular  country  of  Gali- 
lee, and  from  the  despised  city  of  Nazareth.  He 
had  but  recently  entered  on  his  mission,  having  but 
a  few  months  before  been  baptized.  As  yet  he  had 
made  almost  no  disciples.  He  was  without  friends, 
and  the  farthest  from  having  any  prestige  in  his 
favor.  On  the  other  hand,  the  men  whom  he  en- 
countered were  men  of  business,  doubtless  men  of 
wealth — changers  of  money  (brokers),  and  dealers 
in  animals  used  in  temple  worship.  They  had 
money  and  influence  to  sustain  them ;  they  were 
supported  by  the  political  authority,  and  at  least 
winked  at  by  the  priesthood  of  the  temple.  But 
even  at  this  disadvantage,  Jesus  was  more  than  a 
match  for  them  all.  The  sheep  and  oxen  went  out 
at  his  word  and  the  motion  of  his  scourge.  He  told 
the  money-changers  and  dove-sellers  to  "  take  these 
things  hence ;"  and  they  did  it,  and  said  nothing  of 
redress.  They  recognized  the  divinity  of  his  author- 
ity when  he  said,  "Make  not  My  Fathers  house  a 
house  of  merchandise." 


460  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 


(c)  Chrisfs  htdependence. 

This  IS  another  characteristic  which  illustrates  the 
divine  wisdom  of  Christ  in  his  teaching.  The  criti- 
cism of  the  modern  skepticism, — at  least  so  far  as  its 
intelligence  and  moral  character  entitle  it  to  respect, 
— in  denying  the  superhuman  character  of  Jesus, 
grants  that  he  was  really  a  great  and  extraordinary 
man.  In  the  face  of  the  living  fact  that  he  has 
turned  the  thinking  world  upside  down  in  morals 
and  philosophy,  it  would  be  suicidal  to  common- 
sense  to  deny  his  superior  greatness  as  a  teacher. 
But  to  concede  this  is  a  long  stride  in  the  direction 
of  conceding  that  his  wisdom  was  of  a  miraculous 
character. 

This  thought  will  be  illustrated  by  instituting  a 
comparison  between  Jesus  and  other  great  masters 
in  the  field  of  thought.  Looking  back  over  the 
generations  of  the  dead,  we  observe  that  most  great 
teachers  owe  their  greatness  to  the  libraries  to  which 
they  had  access.  But  for  books,  they  had  not  been 
known  in  the  literary  world.  We  do  not  find,  how- 
ever, that  Jesus  ever  read  any  book  but  the  Scrip- 
tures. Certainly  he  was  not  learned,  even  according 
to  the  standard  of  his  time.  We  are  told  that  when 
Jesus  went  up  into  the  temple  and  taught,  ''the 
Jews  marveled,  saying.  How  knoweth  this  man  let- 
ters, having  never  learned?"  To  this  Jesus  replied, 
**  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me" 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  461 

(John  vii :  15, 16),  thus  declaring  his  entire  independ- 
ence of  all  *' book-knowledge." 

Nor  did  he  obtain  his  wisdom  from  oral  instruc- 
tion. In  olden  times,  when  books  were  scarce,  pub- 
lic teachers  were  highly  prized  for  their  instruction 
given  in  conversation  or  lectures.  At  the  birth  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  Philip,  his  father,  gave  vent  to 
his  emotion  in  saying,  '*  I  bless  the  gods,  not  that  I 
have  a  son  born,  but  that  I  have  an  Aristotle  to  edu- 
cate him."  Alcibiades,  Crito,  Xenophon,  Euclid, 
and  Plato  came  to  be  great  teachers  because  they 
were  trained  under  the  skillful  hand  of  Socrates,  of 
whom  Plato  says :  **  When  I  heard  Pericles,  or  any 
other  orator,  I  was  entertained  and  delighted,  and  I 
felt  that  he  had  spoken  well ;  but  no  mortal  speech 
has  ever  excited  in  my  mind  such  emotions  as  are 
kindled  by  this  magician.  Whenever  I  hear  him, 
I  am,  as  it  were,  charmed  and  fettered.  My 
heart  leaps  Hke  an  inspired  Corybant.  My  inmost 
soul  is  stung  by  his  words  as  by  the  bite  of  a  ser- 
pent,— it  is  indignant  at  its  rude  and  ignoble  char- 
acter. I  often  weep  tears  of  regret,  and  think  how 
vain  and  inglorious  is  the  life  I  lead.  Nor  am  I  the 
only  one  that  weeps  like  a  child  and  despairs  of 
himself; — many  others  are  affected  in  the  same 
way."  Having  himself  been  taught  in  the  philo- 
sophical schools  of  Greece,  which  largely  embodied 
the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  world,  Socrates  be- 
came "  mighty  in  word,"  and  his  followers  had  the 
benefit  of  it. 


4^2  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

But  Jesus  was  without  human  teachers.  Unlike 
Paul,  he  was  not  "  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel." That  the  world  might  have  nothing  to  boast, 
he  was  but  a  young  man,  who,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  had  been  raised  in  the  humble  home 
of  a  carpenter  in  a  small  country  town  of  Galilee. 
Coming  to  Jerusalem,  the  center  of  refinement  and 
culture,  though  he  was  without  fame,  books,  or 
teachers,  he  nevertheless  was  destined  to  revolu- 
tionize the  world  of  thought,  morals,  and  religion. 

Nor  did  his  greatness  as  a  teacher  in  any  wise  de- 
pend on  the  contingencies  of  his  life.  If  it  may  be 
said  of  man  that  he  is  a  "  creature  of  circumstan- 
ces," the  fact  may  be  emphasized  that  Jesus  was 
emphatically  the  "  architect  of  his  own  fortune," 
since  he  was  in  no  wise  dependent  on  any  advantage 
that  the  world  had  to  offer. 

Some  author  has  said,  in  substance,  that  all  great 
men  are  great  because  of  one  of  two  things,  viz., 
either,  first,  because  they  are  a  beautiful  combina- 
tion of  the  knowledge  of  their  times,  or,  second,  be- 
cause they  are  a  bright  anticipation  of  some  one  great 
truth.  If  we  reflect  upon  the  characters  who  have 
figured  largely  in  the  world's  history,  we  shall  in- 
variably observe  that  they  belong  to  one  or  the 
other  of  these  two  classes.  Washington's  greatness 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  excelled  in  any 
one  thing.  He  anticipated  no  new  thought  in  sci- 
ence, projected  no  new  theory  of  political  economy, 
nor  did  he  even  excel  as  a  military  chieftain.     While 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  463 

he  was  respectable  in  all  these  departments  of  sci- 
ence, statesmanship,  and  the  art  of  war,  his  true 
greatness  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
very  incarnation  of  the  ''spirit  of  seventy-six";  he 
was  the  embodiment  of  popular  sentiment.  Of  him 
it  may  be  said  as  of  thousands  of  other  great  men, 
that  he  was  great  because  he  was  respectable  in 
everything,  remarkable  in  nothing.  ' 

Others  are,  and  have  been,  great  because  they 
have  cultivated  a  native  genius  for  some  special 
work  or  discovery.  The  fame  of  Copernicus  is  not 
to  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  "  beautiful 
combination  of  the  knowledge  of  his  times,"  but 
rather  that  he  was  a  ''  bright  anticipation  of  a  new 
thought."  While  the  oriental  system  of  astrology 
had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  science  of  the  stars, 
it  was  left  for  Copernicus  to  anticipate  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  whole  matter.  It  was  his  to  overturn 
the  Ptolemaic  theory,  and  forever  establish  the  true 
system  of  astronomy.  Franklin,  who  snatched  from 
the  clouds  the  electric  current,  and  Morse,  who 
made  it  an  instrumentality  of  incalculable  good,  are 
famous  among  great  men  for  the  reason  that  they 
took  up  on  a  single  line  of  thought,  and  went  out 
in  advance  of  their  age.  Thus  thousands  have  be- 
come great  in  history  by  discovering  to  the  world  a 
genius  for  anticipating  some  great  truth,  or  fact  of 
science.  But  while  we  can  think  of  no  great  man 
who  has  not  been  great  because  of  one  of  these 
two  reasons,  the  truth  which  we  desire  to  empha- 


464  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

size  is  that  Jesus  was  great  because  of  neither  of 
them. 

First,  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  was  great  because 
he  was  the  incarnation  of  popular  thought.  So  far 
from  being  the  embodiment  of  the  prevailing  senti- 
ments of  the  Jews,  he  antagonized  them  at  almost 
every  point.  Much  less  did  his  teaching  harmonize 
with  the  popular  sentiment  of  the  Gentile  world. 
Surely  it  cannot  be  said  that  Jesus  was  great  because 
he  was  a  "  beautiful  combination  of  the  knowledge 
of  his  times." 

Nor  can  it,  secondly,  be  claimed  that  he  was  fa- 
mous because  he  was  a  "  bright  anticipation  of  some 
one  great  truth."  As  this  may  be  regarded  as  a 
question  of  more  or  less,  it  is  well  to  observe  that 
men  who  have  become  famous  by  anticipating  their 
times  in  the  discovery  of  truth,  have  not  been  able 
to  go  more  than  about  fifty  years  in  advance  of  their 
times.  Though  Galileo,  who  first  advanced  the 
theory  of  the  earth's  revolution  around  the  sun, 
was  condemned  for  heresy  and  compelled  to  sign  a 
bill  of  recantation,  yet  in  less  than  fifty  years  he  was 
canonized  for  his  discovery.  Socrates,  who  had  the 
moral  heroism  to  march  in  the  vanguard  of  philo- 
sophic truth,  for  which  he  was  compelled  to  drink 
the  hemlock,  had  monuments  to  his  memory  all 
over  Greece  in  less  than  a  half-century.  Moreover, 
you  will  observe  that  men  of  inventive  conception 
have  been  permitted,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to 
go  a  little  in   advance,  only  to  be  superseded  by 


CHRIST'S   TEACHING.  465 

their  successors.  Franklin  could  chain  the  lightning, 
but  "  afterward  had  no  more  that  he  could  do." 
After  having  made  the  electric  fluid  serve  a  single 
purpose,  to  Professor  Morse  it  was  providentially- 
said,  **  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther.'*  In 
the  entire  history  of  this  class  of  famous  men  we 
observe  that  one  discovers  a  new  truth  a  little  in 
advance,  only  to  be  overtaken  in  a  little  while  by 
the  plodding  world,  and  then  to  be  superseded  by 
one  with  a  native  genius  for  new  discovery.  The 
thread  of  mysterious  truth  has  been  and  is  now 
being  unraveled  little  by  little,  and  from  generation 
to  generation. 

But  not  so  with  Him  who  spoke  as  man  never 
spoke.  As  he  was  not  famous  because  of  his  re- 
spectability in  the  various  fields  of  popular  thought, 
neither  was  he  great  in  the  fact  that  he  anticipated 
truth  by  fifty  years,  to  be  supplemented  by  the  new 
discoveries  of  those  who  should  come  after  him. 
More  than  eighteen  centuries  ago  the  sun  of  right- 
eousness shed  forth  his  beams  of  light  upon  a  be- 
nighted world ;  and  during  all  these  epochs,  among 
the  famous  teachers,  sages,  profound  philosophers, 
and  great  reformers  of  the  world,  no  one  has  arisen 
to  reflect  any  new  truth  upon  Christ's  anticipated 
themes  of  "  God,  and  mans  duty  and  destiny.''  These 
mighty  and  far-reaching  subjects,  still  undiscovered 
by  the  world's  wisdom  of  four  thousand  years,  were 
so  perfectly  revealed  by  the  Divine  Teacher,  that 
now,  at  the  end  of  these  ages  of  accumulated  intel- 
30 


466  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

ligence,  the  wisest  and  best  men  of  the  civHIzed 
world  behold  him,  who  is  in  view  of  all  and  above 
all,  beckoning  them  on  and  still  on  in  unfolding  the 
great  truth,  still  wrapped  up  in  the  boundless  mean- 
ing of  those  superhuman  words,  which  are  *'  like 
apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver." 

(d)  Christ's  Sympathy » 

His  tender  compassion  for  humanity  was  not 
comparable  even  with  man's  best  sympathy  for 
man,  but  rather  to  that  of  a  father.  John  Bunyan, 
who  was  "committed  to  Bedford  jail,  where  he 
spent  twelve  years  of  his  life,  supporting  the  wants 
of  his  wife  and  children  by  making  tagged  laces, 
and  ministering  to  all  posterity  by  writing  '  Pilgrim's 
Progress,'  "  was  visited,  while  in  this  prison,  by  his 
family.  And  when  one  after  another  of  the  strong 
ones  had  taken  an  affectionate  leave  of  their  de- 
voted father,  last  of  all  came  that  poor,  pale,  blind, 
and  sick  little  one,  who  with  childish  attachment 
said,  reaching  out  its  tiny  hand,  "  Farewell,  father." 
To  whom,  we  ask,  did  the  heart  of  this  great  man 
turn  most  ?  Not  to  those  strong  ones  who  were  ca- 
pable of  taking  care  of  themselves,  but  rather,  with 
the  certainty  of  a  father's  love,  it  went  out  in  deep- 
est sympathy  for  that  ''  poor,  pale,  blind,  and  sick 
little  one."  Nor  could  he  permit  that  helpless  child 
to  leave  his  gloomy  prison  until  he  had  laid  his 
hand  upon  its  head  and  devoutly  invoked  God's 
fatherly  protection.      Though  the  love  of    a  hus- 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  467 

band  and  father  went  out  toward  the  family,  for 
whom  in  the  dismal  jail  he  toiled  incessantly,  yet 
mingled  with  that  fatherly  affection  there  was  pity, 
sympathy,  and  deepest  solicitude  for  that  impotent 
one. 

"  They  that  be  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but 
they  that  are  sick,"  said  He  whose  sympathy  for  the 
race  was  incomparable  with  that  of  any  teacher  the 
world  ever  saw.  "  I  am  not  come  to  call  the  right- 
eous, but  sinners  to  repentance,"  was  an  expression 
of  pity  and  deepest  solicitude  such  as  the  world's 
cold  charity  had  never  been  able  to  give. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER. 

Christ's  Miracles  the  basis  of  Christian  faith. — (I)  Definition. — 
(II)  Antecedent  Probability:  God's  benevolence;  Man's  free 
will;  Human  sin;  Divine'interposition;  heaven-sent  Messenger; 
proofs  of  his  mission. — Objections  to  miracles;  God's  immuta- 
bility; insufficiency  of  human  testimony. — External  and  internal 
evidences. 

Orthodox  and  heterodox,  Christian  and  infidel, 
alike  regard  the  claim  of  Christ  to  supernatural — 
that  is,  miraculous — power  as  the  foundation  of  the 
Christian  faith.  It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  ex- 
amine this  with  diligence.  We  should  understand 
distinctly  what  is  meant  by    the   term    "  miracle ;" 


468  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

carefully  examine  into  the  antecedent  probabilities 
of  a  miracle  ;  be  able  squarely  to  meet  any  objec- 
tions that  may  have  been  offered  to  the  credibility 
of  a  miracle  ;  and  especially  examine  most  minutely 
the  evidences,  both  external  and  internal,  bearing 
upon  the  question  whether  or  not  Christ  ever 
wrought  a  miracle. 

SECTION  (l). 

Definition. 

A  miracle  is  the  doing  of  something  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  events.  It  is  simply  the  introduction 
of  a  new  method,  and  not  the  violation  of  existing 
laws.  For  example:  While  the  legislators  of  the 
State  may  suspend  the  operation  of  a  statute  by  the 
passage  of  a  new  law,  it  cannot  be  said  that  in  this 
they  have  violated  any  previous  enactment.  They 
have  the  right,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in 
them,  to  make  law  and  suspend  law,  when  in  their 
judgment  it  will  be  in  the  interest  of  the  State.  So, 
likewise,  a  miracle  is  not  the  violation  of  the  laws  of 
the  universe,  but  only  the  introduction  of  a  new 
method  which  suspends,  for  the  time  being,  the 
operation  of  previous  laws,  or  of  a  new  combination 
which  produces  new  results.  It  is  certainly  the 
right  of  the  Supreme  Governor  so  to  exercise  his 
power  in  his  natural  or  spiritual  kingdom,  whenever 
in  his  wisdom  he  sees  that  it  will  best  subserve  the 
interest  of  mankind  or  promote  his  own  glory. 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  469 

SECTION  (11). 
Antecedefit  Probability  of  Miracles, 

From  the  foregoing  definition  of  "  miracles"  it 
must  be  obvious  that  God  is  at  perfect  Hberty  to 
suspend  the  operation  of  any  existing  law  by  the 
introduction  of  another,  if  in  his  infinite  wisdom  he 
sees  that  it  will  better  promote  the  end  for  which 
laws  exist,  and  be  more  conducive  to  the  well-being 
of  mankind.  The  Almighty  is  not  barred  by  ina- 
bility, nor  hindered  by  opposing  forces,  from  doing 
things  as  his  wisdom  and  goodness  may  dictate.  If, 
therefore,  it  can  be  shown,  or  even  made  to  appear 
probable,  that  at  any  time  the  object  of  the  divine 
government  would  be  better  accomplished  and  his 
benevolent  design  toward  man  better  served  in  the 
suspension  of  ordinary  laws,  by  the  introduction  of 
a  new  method,  it  is  both  reasonable  and  probable 
that  he  would  do  it — that  is,  that  he  would  work  a 
miracle.     This  leads  to  the  following  observations  : 

It  is  assumed  that  (i)  God  has  a  befievolent  regard 
for  man.  This  is  his  nature  as  a  God  of  Love.  It 
is  a  fact  obvious  to  any  person  who  has  any  appre- 
ciation of  the  manifestations  of  good-will.  If  we  are 
allowed  to  judge  from  God's  providential  pains- 
taking in  man's  behalf,  we  are  led  to  conclude  that 
his  solicitude  for  man's  well-being  is  vastly  greater 
than  that  towards  any  other  being  on  the  earth. 
The  inexhaustible  treasures  which  have  been  hid 


470  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

away  in  the  various  rich  mines  of  our  world,  and 
which  man  has  just  come  to  develop  and  enjoy, 
speak  trumpet-tongued  of  the  benevolence  of  Him 
who  has  made  these  loving  provisions  for  the  com- 
ing of  his  earthly  children.  Besides,  his  continued 
providences  are  but  a  running  exhibition  of  his  love 
and  paternal  regard  for  man.  That  our  world  has 
been  constructed  and  is  controlled  with  a  benevolent 
design  toward  our  race,  is  a  fact  which  none  but 
the  stoically  hard  heart  will  fail  to  recognize. 

(2)  God's  benevolence  led  to  the  freedom  of  man. 
The  world  having  been  fitted  up  for  man,  he  was 
given  possession  in  fee-simple  to  occupy  it  in  the 
councils  of  his  oww  free-will.  God's  paternal  wisdom 
and  love  introduced  his  children  into  the  home 
which  he  fitted  up  for  them,  not  as  slaves  of  fatality, 
but  to  be  morally  free  as  to  the  course  they  would 
pursue.  Even  the  love  of  an  earthly  father  would 
secure  to  his  son  the  utmost  freedom  of  will,  and 
only  propose  to  influence  him  through  the  persua- 
sions of  reason.  Only  by  voluntary  obedience  would 
it  be  possible  for  the  son  to  challenge  the  love  and 
commendation  of  his  father.  We  cannot  suppose 
that  God  would  be  less  benevolent  towards  his 
children — making  them  slaves  of  fate,  and  thus 
rendering  it  impossible  for  them  to  offer  to  him  a 
voluntary  tribute  of  love  and  obedience,  and  to  re- 
ceive in  turn  his  fatherly  benediction. 

We  are  aware  that  there  is  a  system  of  theology 
which  seeks  to  show  that  man  is  under  the  fatality 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  4/1 

of  '' foreordination  and  decree.''  But  even  though 
the  metaphysical  arguments  going  to  sustain  this 
doctrine  were  unanswerable,  yet  the  facts  of  experi- 
ence convince  every  one  that  he  is  a  free  man,  with 
the  feelings  of  self-condemnation  whenever  he  vio- 
lates his  sense  of  right — a  bitter  experience,  which 
could  not  follow  were  he  not  consciously  free.  No 
psycho-theological  speculation  can  in  any  wise  stand 
against  man's  experimental  knowledge.  Every  man 
knows  for  himself  that  he  is  morally  free  ;  and  only 
for  this  conscious  freedom  does  he  condemn  himself 
for  doing  that  which  his  better  judgment  decides  to 
be  wrong.  Whatever  else,  therefore,  we  may  doubt, 
or  however  much  we  may  differ,  we  must  all  agree, 
from  the  evidence  of  our  observation  and  experience, 
that  God  has  ever  had  a  loving  regard  for  man  in 
that  he  has  made  him  free  "  to  choose  his  life  and 
what  he'll  be." 

(3)  In  the  exercise  of  this  freedoni  of  will  man  had 
gone  into  hopeless  error  and  sin. 

To  be  assured  of  the  truth  of  this  proposition  we 
need  only  to  consult  the  record  of  mankind.  The 
history  of  all  nations  and  all  religions  shows  only  too 
plainly  that  the  world  had  drifted  away  from  the 
thought  of  God,  which  is  fundamental  to  all  science 
and  is  the  foundation  of  all  true  religion.  And  hav- 
ing lost  not  only  the  moral  image  of  God,  but  even 
the  knowledge  of  the  unity  of  his  personal  existence, 
it  was  morally  impossible  for  man  to  understand  the 
sacred  relation  he  sustained  to  his  Creator,  and  the 


472  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

obligations  he  was  under  to  give  him  a  grateful  heart 
and  a  faithful  life.  And  though,  from  the  religious 
instincts  of  his  nature,  he  might  infer  that  he  was 
designed  for  eternity,  yet,  having  lost  the  knowledge 
of  his  heavenly  paternity,  his  destiny  was  but  a  dark 
mystery.  Left  with  the  native  disposition  to  wor- 
ship, man  was  left  blindly  to  feel  after  God.  This 
brought  to  his  imagination  "  lords  many  and  gods 
many."  To  these  he  offered  his  devotions,  not  of 
love  and  fidelity,  but  of  the  most  costly  sacrifices, 
sometimes  even  the  son  of  his  love.  Failing  to 
comprehend  the  fatherhood  of  God,  he  was  equally 
ignorant  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.  This  ignorance 
led  to  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  morals  which 
maintained  that  might  made  right,  and  that  the  in- 
dividual had  no  rights  which  others  were  bound  to 
respect,  only  so  far  as  would  subserve  the  ends  of 
selfishness.  Hence  the  early  history  of  mankind 
was  little  less  than  a  history  of  war  and  bloodshed. 
The  few  who  had  struggled  up  to  a  higher  plane  of 
morals  were  only  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  soul's 
possibilities,  and  the  depths  of  degradation  into 
which  the  world  had  fallen.  While  the  unnumbered 
temples  were  crowded  with  the  wicked  deities  of  a 
blind  superstition  to  whom  men  paid  their  devotions, 
the  millions  of  earth  were  sinking  into  a  degradation 
which  baffles  all  description.  This  was  the  wretched 
condition  of  mankind  when  the  plan  of  saving  the 
race  began  to  be  executed. 

If,  as  we  have  assumed  and  shown,  God  regards 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  473 

man's  well-being  with  the    solicitude  of  a     father, 
would  it  be  possible  for  him    to    contemplate    the 
wretched  condition  into  which  the  world  had  fallen, 
without  coming  to  the  rescue  of  his  helpless  children  ? 
For  the  antecedent  probability  of  such  divine  inter- 
position is  greatly  increased  by  the  fact  that,  in  the 
absence   of  such   aid,   man  was  absolutely  helpless 
and  hopeless.     All  history  shows  that  he  was  sink- 
ing deeper  and  deeper  into  the  pit  of  hopeless  de- 
spair.    Instead   of  coming  back  to  the  thought  of 
God,  the  world,  with  its  increase  of  wisdom,  was  drift- 
ing farther  and  farther  into  polytheism  and  idolatry. 
While    the  burden   of  their  religion  was  becoming 
more  and  more  intolerable  to  the  priceless  legacy  of 
human  relationships  and  consequent  human  duty, 
the  world  was  becoming  more  and  more  alien.     If 
feeble  tapers   of  light  were   occasionally  known  to 
shoot  up  from  the  dark  horizon,  it  was  only  sufficient 
to   illustrate  the  soul's   struggles  to  come   into  its 
native  light,  to  drop  back  again  to  the  blackness  of 
palpable  night.     Three  thousand  years  of  increasing 
polytheism  and  consequent  degradation  were  suffi- 
cient to  settle  the  fact,  once  and  forever,  not  only 
that  the  '' world   by  wisdom   knew   not  God,"  but, 
more  and  worse,  that  the  world  by  wisdom  would 
never  find  out  God. 

(4)  From   the   foregoing  we  are   naturally  led   to 
suppose  that  God  would  interpose  hi  mans  behalf. 

Can  we  believe  that   an   Almighty  Father,  whose 
paternal  regard  had  done  so  much  for  his  children, 


474  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

would  abandon  them  because  of  the  mishaps  of 
their  "  free-will,"  while  it  was  still  possible  that  at 
least  a  remnant  might  be  saved?  If  then  it  be  an- 
tecedently probable,  from  these  a-priori  suggestions, 
that  God  would  interpose  in  man's  behalf,  it  is  cer- 
tainly not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that, 

(5)  Such  help  might  come  through  personal  agency. 
Indeed,  if  heaven  is  to  interpose,  it  would  seem 
most  reasonable  that  a  heaven-sent  messenger  should 
bear  the  '*  good  tidings."  Suppose  that  man,  be- 
cause of  sin,  had  become  so  morally  blind  that  he 
was  incapable  of  learning  the  character  and  will  of 
God  from  the  things  that  were  made, — and  from  the 
Providential  blessings  which  were  daily  bestowed, — 
and  suppose,  further,  that  it  would  not  only  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  their  Creator,  but  be  of  infinite 
importance  to  mankind  that  they  come  into  posses- 
sion of  a  knowledge  of  God,  of  human  duty  and 
destiny — can  we  imagine  a  plan  of  communication 
so  directly  effective  as  that  of  dispatching  a  mes- 
senger charged  with  the  duty  of  bearing  a  message 
from  heaven  to  earth,  and  speaking  "  face  to  face  " 
with  man  ?  And  when  the  plan  of  elevating  and 
saving  our  race  is  made  known  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  one  divinely  appointed  messenger, 
would  it  not  be  taken  up  by  another,  and  another, 
until  the  ears  of  all  who  dwell  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  had  heard  '*  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy"? 

In  the  light  of  reason,  this  method  of  communi- 
cating saving  truth  seems  to  be  not  only  the  best 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  475 

way,  but,  if  man  be  a  free  agent,  the  only  possible 
way,  unless  we  suppose  that  God  should  come  to 
each  individual  and  by  a  direct  miracle  convince 
him  of  the  truth.  But  God's  providential  economy, 
as  everywhere  displayed,  would  seem  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  such  a  course.  We  conclude, 
therefore,  that  God  will  come  to  the  rescue  of  a  lost 
race,  and  come  in  the  person  of  a  heaven-sent  mes- 
senger. 

(6)  This  leads  us  to  inquire,  How  shall  such  mes- 
senger prove  the  divinity  of  his  mission  f 

To  this  question  we  unhesitatingly  reply,  Only  by 
the  testimony  of  him  by  whom  he  was  commissioned 
and  sent.  That  is,  he  must  prove  the  divinity  of  his 
mission  by  doing  those  things  which  belong  only  to 
God.  It  is  not  in  the  province  of  reason  to  conceive 
of  any  other  testimony  as  being  sufficient  to  estab- 
lish, beyond  doubt  or  cavil,  a  claim  to  divinity  of 
authority,  speech,  and  character.  If  one  were  to 
come  before  the  public  claiming  to  have  a  message 
directly  from  God,  and  to  be  divinely  appointed  to 
be  the  "  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,"  however  true 
his  claim  might  be,  the  mere  fact  of  his  saying  so 
would  not  convince  any  one  of  thoughtful  mind. 
Any  impostor  could  say  the  same.  Histor)-  presents 
us  with  many  who  have  claimed  to  have  a  message 
from  God,  who  were  only  deceivers,  fanatically  de- 
ceived. But  if,  along  with  such  claim,  he  came  doing 
such  things  as  belong  only  to  God,  then  he  would 
not  only  have  a  right  to  a  respectful  hearing,  but  he 


476  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

would  carry  conviction  as  to  the  truth  of  his  claim. 
True,  the  subjective  testimony  of  experience  might 
subsequently  be  brought  in  unimpeachably  corrobo- 
rating the  truth  and  divinity  of  such  message. 

But,  in  the  nature  of  things,  such  testimony  would 
not  be  given  unless  preceded  by  objective  proof.  A 
man  might  claim  that  he  had  been  commissioned  of 
God  to  bring  a  message  to  man,  and  declare  as  proof 
that  his  message  is  a  perfect  counterpart  of  the  soul's 
nature,  and  hence  would  meet  its  every  necessity. 
All  this  might  be  so  ;  and  the  soul's  experience  might 
subsequently  prove  it  to  be  so.  Thus  this  subjective 
test  might  fix  the  truth  of  the  claim  as  firm  as 
adamant.  But  who  would  be  induced  to  submit  the 
claim  to  any  such  experimental  test  without  previ- 
ously having  had  objective  testimony  to  its  truth? 
Such  a  course  would  be  to  reverse  the  natural  order 
of  thinking.  Before  the  mind  can  arrive  at  any 
truth,  the  senses  must  be  appealed  to.  Sensation 
first,  afterward  reflection  and  experience.  If,  there- 
fore, an  individual  pretends  to  have  a  message 
directly  from  God,  he  must  verify  such  pretension 
by  doing  such  things  as  belong  only  to  God. 

Nor  is  it  enough  to  do  marvelous  things  which 
may  be  referred  to  natural  causes.  A  man  might 
predict  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  at  a  given  time,  and  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prediction  might  lead  the  ignorant 
to  regard  him  as  having  supernatural  wisdom ;  but 
the  more  intelligent  would  know  that  the  prophecy 
was  founded  on  natural  causes.     But  if  he  were  to 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  477 

cause  darkness  at  noonday,  and  do  it  repeatedly 
without  failure,  his  claim  to  supernatural  power 
would  be  established. 

The  foregoing  observations  may  be  summed  up 
thus :  If,  as  has  been  shown,  God  is  controlling  the 
world  with  a  benevolent  design  toward  mankind ; 

If,  in  the  councils  of  his  wisdom  and  love,  he  has 
bestowed  upon  man  the  legacy  of  "  free-will ;" 

If  man,  in  the  exercise  of  this  '*  free-will,"  has  gone 
into  hopeless  error  and  sin  ; 

If  the  hopeless  and  helpless  condition  into  which 
man  has  plunged  himself  called  loudly  for  divine  in- 
terposition ; 

If  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  such  divine  in- 
terposition could  be  most  naturally  and  effectually 
made  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  heaven-sent 
messenger ; 

And  if  the  only  method  by  which  such  messenger 
could  establish  his  claim  to  divinity  of  mission  was 
to  call  God  to  witness,  by  doing  such  things  as  be- 
long only  to  the  Divine  Power, — 

In  the  light  of  these  suppositions,  we  submit  the 
question  if  miracles  be  not ''  antecedently  probable  ;" 
nay,  more,  if  they  were  not  demanded,  at  the  hand 
of  a  merciful  Father  ? 

OBJECTIONS. 

But  just  at  this  point  our  argument  is  met  with 
an  objection  which  some  have  regarded  as  insuper- 
able, namely,  t/ial  miracles  are  antecedently  incredible. 


4/8  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

Hume,  the  celebrated  English  historian  and  phi- 
losopher, has  offered  two  reasons  for  regarding  mira- 
cles as  being  incredible :  namely,  first,  that  God's 
immiU ability  renders  it  impossible  for  him  to  work  a 
miracle ;  and,  secondly,  even  if  this  were  possible, 
that  human  testimony  is  not  sufficient  to  prove  such 
a  marvelous  transaction.  Though  the  sophistries  of 
these  propositions  which  once  crazed  the  heads  of 
all  Europe  have  been  a  thousand  times  fully  ex- 
posed, yet  we  deem  it  important,  in  this  connection, 
to  offer  the  following  suggestions  in  reply  to  them. 

As  Dr.  Palfrey  has  clearly  shown,  God's  immuta- 
bility has  reference  to  a  sublime  purpose,  and  not 
to  the  methods  by  which  that  purpose  is  to  be  ac- 
complished. It  is  not  sound  reason  to  suppose  that, 
in  establishing  the  general  laws  by  which  the  universe 
was  to  be  controlled,  God  has  so  hampered  himself 
with  the  fatality  of  a  fixed  plan,  or  so  bound  himself 
to  adopt  no  method  outside  of  ordinary  observation, 
that  he  could  not  change  it  though  the  exigency 
might  so  demand.  Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  exi- 
gency would  not  arise.  It  has  been  claimed  that  as 
God's  laws  were  established  in  the  councils  of  his 
own  wisdom,  they  are  not  subject  to  change  or  modi- 
fication. But  it  must  be  clearly  seen  that  this  prop- 
osition entirely  ignores  the  fact  of  man's  "  free-will." 
Not  the  mistaken  councils  of  God,  but  rather  the 
miscarriages  of  man,  have  caused  the  exigency  to 
arise  which  seems  to  demand  a  change  or  modifica- 
tion of  the  divine  method  in  order  that  the  immu- 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  479 

table  purpose  of  "  good-will  to  men"  be  accomplished. 
This  leads  us  to  inquire : 

IV/if  is  our  zvorld  controlled  by  a  fixed  and  uniform 
method f  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  be- 
cause the  Infinite  does  things  in  a  given  uniform 
way,  therefore  there  is  no  other  method  by  which 
he  could  do  those  things.  Even  man  is  not  shut  up 
to  any  such  fatality  of  operating.  The  same  things, 
as  we  know,  may  be  done  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Can 
we  imagine  that  the  Almighty  can  have  less  vari- 
ety of  method  ?  The  very  supposition  that  God 
is  infinite  in  his  wisdom  and  power  involves  the 
conclusion  that  there  are  ways  and  means  out  of 
number  by  which  he  can  control  his  material  and 
spiritual  kingdoms.  In  the  presence  of  such  infinite 
skill  of  contrivance  and  omnipotent  strength  to 
execute,  reason  has  nothing  to  offer  why  the  universe 
is  operated  by  a  uniform  method,  excepting  that 
such  uniformity  is  necessary  for  man's  good. 

Though  reason  must  grant  that  the  Almighty  has 
the  capacity  to  do  things  by  this,  that,  or  the  other 
method^  to-day  in  one  way  and  to-morrow  in  another, 
yet  such  irregularity  would  render  it  utterly  impos- 
sible for  man  to  think,  plan,  or  do.  But  for  uni- 
formity of  methods  in  controlling  the  uniV'erse  there 
could  be  no  such  thing  as  science,  and  hence  no  such 
thing  as  the  proper  development  of  man's  thinking 
power.  If  the  rays  of  the  sun  were  light  and  hot 
to-day  and  dark  and  cold  to-morrow,  man  would 
have  no  inducement  to  till  the  soil  and  thus  meet 


480  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

the  demands  of  his  nature.  But  for  uniformity  there 
could  be  no  such  thing  as  forecasting  human  plans 
and  carrying  forward  the  necessary  enterprises  of 
society.  Man  as  he  is,  with  his  physical  and  mental 
organism,  and  the  world  as  it  is,  controlled  by  fixed 
and  changeless  law,  beautifully  illustrate  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  God  in  thus  wisely  adapting  the  one 
to  the  other.  But  imagine  man  as  he  is  to  have 
been  sent  to  occupy  a  world  which  was  controlled 
by  no  established  order  !  We  can  readily  see  that 
humanity  would  have  had  no  home,  and  the  Being- 
who  sent  him  to  such  a  world  would  have  made  an 
illustrious  failure. 

In  another  part  of  this  work  we  have  sought  to 
show  from  the  general  make-up  of  our  world,  and 
the  nature  of  man,  that  the  one  was  obviously  made 
for  the  other.  The  construction  of  our  earth,  to- 
gether with  all  its  available  resources,  is  without 
any  meaning,  except  as  they  are  developed  and 
utilized  by  man.  If  the  fact  not  only  that  the  earth 
is  perfectly  adapted  to  man,  but  that  man  is  the 
only  being  who  seems  capable  of  utilizing  its  provi- 
sions, is  to  be  accepted  as  evidence,  then  we  are 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  all  this  divine  pains- 
taking was  with  no  other  view  than  that  of  making 
a  home  for  man.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  an 
earthly  father  were  to  possess  himself  of  a  tract  of 
land,  and  proceed  to  fell  the  forest,  construct  fences, 
plant  an  orchard,  build  house  and  barn,  and  do  such 
other  things  as  would  make  it  a  complete  homestead  •. 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  TOWER.  48 1 

suppose,  further,  that,  after  all  this  was  completed, 
the  father  were  to  send  his  son  to  be  the  sole  pro- 
prietor and  occupant  of  the  farm  :  could  we  come  to 
any  other  conclusion  than  that  all  that  previous  care 
was  with  special  reference  to  the  coming  of  that 
son  ?  So  when  we  contemplate  this  world  with  its 
wonderful  provisions,  so  completely  adapted  to  the 
nature  and  necessities  of  man,  and  remember  that, 
after  countless  years  of  preparation,  man  was  sent  to 
possess,  utilize,  and  have  dominion  over  all,  as  the 
only  being  who  could  develop  and  enjoy  its  re- 
sources, we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  our 
world  has  been  constructed  and  is  controlled  with  a 
view  to  the  occupancy  of  man.  To  suppose  other- 
wise is  a  conclusion  devoid  of  all  sound  reason. 

The  fact  that  this  world  was  made  for  man, 
which  we  think  has  been  satisfactorily  shown,  goes 
to  emphasize  the  additional  proposition,  that  God 
has  established  a  fixed  order  of  governing  and  di- 
recting our  world  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
thus  he  would  best  subserve  the  interests  of  Ins  chil- 
dren. And  this  granted,  it  remains  only  to  be  shown 
that  a  change  of  mode  has  been  helpful  to  man- 
kind, and  we  are  brought  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
miracle  is  not  only  antecedently  credible,  but  abso- 
lutely demanded  at  the  hand  of  a  loving  Father. 

Having  disposed  of  the  first  objection  to  miracles, 

founded  on  the  immutability  of  God,  we  pass  to  con- 

sider  the  second  objection,  namely,  that  if  it  were 

possible  for  God  to  work  a  miracle^  yet  human  testi- 

31 


482  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

mony  is  too  weak  for  the  task  of  proving  it.  We  give 
this  argument  the  benefit  of  an  honest  statement,  by 
supposing,  first,  that  as  the  human  mind  has  been 
accustomed  to  observe  that  the  affairs  of  Providence 
are  controlled  by  a  uniform  method,  it  is  naturally 
averse  to  believing  a  miracle  ;  by  supposing,  secondly, 
that  if  the  mind  is  forced  to  choose  between  two 
marvelous  events,  its  natural  aversion  to  a  miracle 
will  lead  it  to  accept  the  one  that  is  the  least  mirac- 
ulous ;  by  supposing,  thirdly,  that  inasmuch  as  a 
miracle  is  contrary  to  observation,  and  we  have  often 
observed  that  human  testimony,  however  honestly 
given,  is  sometimes  false,  we  must  conclude  that, 
when  such  testimony  is  brought  forward  to  establish 
a  miracle,  the  mind  is  led  to  believe  that  the  witness 
was  mistaken,  rather  than  believe  that  the  miracle 
was  a  veritable  transaction.  Conceding  that  these 
suppositions,  as  logical  steps,  are  well  taken,  we  must 
nevertheless  deny  the  conclusion.  Grant  that  the 
human  mind  is  naturally  averse  to  believing  a 
miracle,  and  that  if  forced  to  make  a  choice  between 
two  it  will  choose  the  one  least  marvelous;  and 
grant,  further,  that  a  miracle  is  "contrary  to  observa- 
tion," and  that  we  have  often  known  honest  human 
testimony  to  be  false ;  still  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  mind  is  inclined  to  ''  believe  that  the  witness 
was  mistaken,  rather  than  believe  that  the  miracle 
was  a  veritable  transaction."  Before  we  can  reach 
such  a  conclusion  we  must  assume  two  things,  neither 
of  which  is  admissible.     The  first  is,  that  a  miracle 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  483 

is  contrary  not  only  to  *'  observation,"  but  to  uni- 
versal observation.  (Hume  has  not  used  the  word 
"universal,"  but  he  assumes  it  without  using  it ;  else 
his  argument  would  be  good  for  nothing.  He  doubt- 
less saw  that  the  use  of  such  a  term  would  be  evi- 
dently to  *'  beg  the  question.")  We  must  suppose, 
secondly,  that,  when  human  testimony  is  brought 
forward  to  prove  a  miracle,  the  mind  naturally  con- 
cludes that  the  witness  is  mistaken,  rather  than  that 
such  a  marvel  is  a  verity.  But  such  a  supposition 
is  a  flat  contradiction  of  history.  The  most  that  can 
be  said  in  the  light  of  historic  truth,  is  that  some 
minds  (comparatively  few)  have  been  naturally  led 
to  believe  that  the  witnesses  were  mistaken,  rather 
than  concede  that  the  miracle  did  actually  occur. 
And  charity  would  offer  an  apology  for  these  "some 
minds"  on  the  ground  that  they  have  not,  perhaps, 
carefully  examined  all  the  available  objective  testi- 
mony which  goes  to  establish  the  truth  of  miracles, 
much  less  sought  and  obtained  the  subjective  proof 
of  such  marvelous  events.  To  decide,  therefore, 
that  a  miracle  is  antecedently  incredible  "  because 
of  the  weakness  of  human  testimony,"  is  a  conclusion 
which  involves  two  assumptions,  the  first  of  which 
"  begs  the  question  in  dispute,"  and  the  other  con- 
tradicts the  facts  of  history.  Believing  that  the  ob- 
jections to  miracles  are  out  of  the  way,  we  are  pre- 
pared to  resume  the  argument  that  miracles  are  not 
only  **  antecedently  probable,"  but  even  *'  demanded 
at  the  hand  of  a  loving  Father." 


484  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

SECTION  (ill). 

Object  of  Christ's  Miracles, 

While  the  great  purpose  in  the  mind  and  mission 
of  the  Saviour  was  to  do  good  to  sinning  and  suffer- 
ing humanity,  the  immediate  object  of  his  miracles 
was  to  attest  the  divinity  of  his  character  and  teach- 
ings, that  thereby  men  might  be  induced  to  accept 
the  good  he  brought  them.  *'  Many  other  signs 
[things]  truly  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his  disci- 
ples, which  are  not  written  in  this  book :  but  these 
are  written,  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing  ye 
might  have  life  through  his  name"  (John  xx  :  30, 
31).  Nor  did  Christ  claim  a  hearing  on  any  other 
ground  than  that  of  his  supernatural  power.  While 
he  knew  that  the  value  of  his  religion  lay  in  its 
power  to  meet  and  answer  the  necessities  of  the 
human  soul,  and  that  it  would  thereby  ultimately 
find  the  highest  evidence  of  its  divinity  in  the 
soul's  rich  experience,  he  knew  equally  well  that 
such  subjective  test  would  not  be  made  until  he 
had  appealed  to  the  senses  with  objective  facts 
which  would  challenge  a  hearing  and  convince  the 
hearers  of  the  divinity  of  his  mission.  When  the 
first  submarine  cable  was  laid,  all  doubt  as  to  the 
power  of  the  electric  current  to  transmit  a  message 
across  the  ocean  was  dispelled  by  the  actual  trans- 
mission of  a  message  between  the  Queen  of  England 


CHRIST'S    SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  485 

and  the  President  of  the  United  States.  So  Christ, 
conscious  of  his  divine  origin  and  mission,  did  not 
wait  for  the  work  of  time  to  prove  it,  but  in  the 
midst  of  civilization,  surrounded  by  few  friends  and 
a  multitude  of  enemies,  he  showed  the  visible  and 
tangible  proofs  of  his  miraculous  wisdom  and  power. 
If  the  magic  of  his  words  and  the  power  of  his  per- 
sonal presence  failed  to  overcome  prejudice  and 
bring  conviction,  he  would  say,  "  Though  ye  believe 
not  me,  believe  the  works ;"  and,  "  Believe  me  for 
the  very  works'  sake"  (John  x  :  38  and  xiv :  11). 

If  any  doubted,  as  perhaps  did  John  the  Baptist, 
he  referred  as  proof  to  what  he  was  doing — "  The 
blind  receive  their  sight,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers 
are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised 
up."  On  more  than  thirty  different  occasions  he 
gave  proofs  of  his  divine  power  by  doing  works  of 
which  it  was  confessed  '*  No  man  can  do  the  mira- 
cles that  thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him,"  The 
divine  method  of  establishing  Christianity  was  to 
appeal  first  to  the  senses,  by  doing  those  things 
which  are  known  to  belong  only  to  God,  and  thus 
convince  the  world  that  Deity  was  speaking  and 
acting,  and  then,  through  the  influence  of  the  faith 
thus  engendered,  influence  the  soul  to  make  the 
subjective  test  of  experience,  which  will  convince  all 
who  make  it  that  He  who  formed  the  human  soul  has 
designed  the  Christian  religion  to  meet  exactly  its 
native  wants.  Thus  did  Christ  pursue,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  only  possible  way  in  which  he  could  con- 


486  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

vince  men  that  he  was  divinely  commissioned  of 
God  to  bear  a  message  from  heaven  to  earth  and 
accomplish  the  great  mission  on  which  he  was  sent. 
Nor  are  we  at  liberty  to  reverse  this  divine  order. 
The  time  was  when  Jesus  claimed  the  faith  of  the 
incredulous  on  no  other  ground  than  that  of  his  mi- 
raculous power.  But  the  time  is  when  the  wisest 
and  best  men  of  the  world  unhesitatingly  recognize 
him  as  a  messenger  of  heavenly  authority,  without 
reference  to  those  miraculous  things  which  had  their 
day  and  necessity.  The  sublimity  of  the  truths  he 
uttered,  the  spotless  life  he  lived,  and  the  spirit  of 
heavenly  love  which  he  manifested,  so  perfectly  an- 
swer to  the  needs  of  the  soul's  nature  that  it  settles 
the  question  of  divinity  of  origin  firmly  as  adamant. 
Those  who  have  learned  the  absolute  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity by  the  subjective  evidence  of  a  blessed  expe- 
rience have  no  occasion  to  go  back  to  the  rudiments 
of  our  religion.  As  well  might  the  advanced 
scholar  go  back  to  his  a,  b,  c,  as  that  a  soul  trans- 
formed into  the  divine  likeness  should  go  back  and  ask 
that  his  faith  be  strengthened  by  the  testimony  of  a 
miracle.  While  \.\\q  faith  that  came  of  observation 
was  the  bud  of  Christianity,  the  absolute  knowledge 
of  experience  is  the  luscious  fruit.  It  is  not  the  ob- 
servation of  marvelous  external  things,  but  the  life 
of  the  soul's  inner  experience,  that  enables  one  to 
know  the  deep  meaning  of  those  words  :  ''  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  my- 
self." 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  487 

Thus  the  truth  of  Christianity  passed  from  the 
letter  to  the  spirit, — from  observation  to  experi- 
ence,— from  the  head  to  the  heart.  So  that  if  the 
miracles  of  Christ  were  no  more  thought  of,  the 
"  foundation  standeth  sure"  in  the  hearts  and  lives 
of  the  wisest  and  best  of  earth.  The  time  and  ne- 
cessity of  miracles  having  passed,  and  having  served 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  divinely  appointed, 
any  effort  at  reviving  them  is  not  only  to  disregard 
God's  uniform  method  of  governing  the  universe,  to 
introduce  an  endless  tale  of  legends  and  destroy  the 
spirit  of  self-reliance,  but  to  reflect  upon  the  design 
for  which  such  miraculous  power  was  given.  Be- 
sides, if  miracles  were  to  have  continued  in  the 
church,  we  can  readily  see  that  their  frequency 
would  not  only  destroy  the  character  of  a  miracle, 
but  it  would  lead  to  the  sin  of  presumption  by  en- 
couraging men  to  expect  God  to  do  that  which  of 
right  they  should  do  themselves.  The  proposition, 
*'  This  is  my  beloved  Son,"  being  established  by  the 
interposition  of  Deity,  the  foundation  of  the  world's 
future  faith,  hope,  and  love  was  laid  once  and  for- 
ever. Hence  any  effort  at  the  supernatural  may  be 
doubted,  as  it  seems  to  us,  on  the  ground  that  **  tJie 
time  and  necessity  for  miracles  have  passed.'' 

Moreover,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  the  time  zuas 
when  the  Old  Testament,  with  its  history,  biography, 
law,  poetry,  prophec}^,  and  revelation,  was  a  neces- 
sity in  preparing  the  world  for  that  which  is  infi- 
nitely better.     But  the  time  is  when  Christianity  is 


488  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  very  heart  of  civilization,  the  mighty  throbbings 
of  which  are  dependent,  not  upon  miracles,  nor  yet 
upon  the  Old  Testament,  but  upon  the  living  Christ, 
who  "  was  dead,  but  is  alive  for  evermore."  Having 
served  the  divinely  appointed  purpose  of  a  "school- 
master," any  effort  at  making  the  Old  Testament  of 
equal  authority  with  the  New  is  not  only  to  reverse 
God's  progressive  order  of  things,  but  it  is  to  detract 
from  the  glory  of  Him  who  is  the  end  of  all  law,  the 
fulfillment  of  all  prophecy,  and  the  conclusion  of  all 
revelation.  The  Old  Testament,  like  miracles,  has 
had  its  day,  and  has  largely  filled  the  mission  for 
which  it  was  divinely  appointed.  It  must  be  obvi- 
ous to  every  student  of  the  Bible  that,  while  revela- 
tion has  been  progressive,  it  has  found  its  comple- 
tion in  the  person  of  Him  of  whom  it  was  said 
**  Never  man  spake  like  this  man." 

SECTION    (IV). 
Peculiarity  of  Christ's  Miracles, 

The  more  firmly  to  convince  us  of  Christ's  super- 
human power,  it  is  important  that  we  observe  care- 
fully the  circumstances  which  distinguish  his  mira- 
cles from  those  which  other  religionists  have  pro- 
fessed to  perform. 

(i)  Christianity  was  FOUNDED  through  the  instru- 
mentality  of  miracles. 

In  this  it  was  distinguished  from  any  other  re- 
ligion  known  to  history,  except  Judaism.     "Con- 


CHRIST'S    SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  489 

cerning  the  religion  of  ancient  Rome,  of  Turkey,  of 
Siam,  of  China,  a  single  miracle  cannot  be  named 
that  was  ever  offered  as  a  test  of  any  of  those  re- 
ligions before  their  establishment  "  (Adams  on  Mira- 
cles, quoted  by  Dr.  Paley).  The  history  of  the  four 
great  religions,  of  Zoroaster,  Buddha,  Confucius, 
Mohammed,  gives  not  a  single  instance  in  which 
their  founders  laid  claim  to  the  faith  of  the  incredu- 
lous on  the  ground  of  their  miraculous  power. 
They  knew  that  in  such  presence  a  pretense  of  that 
kind  would  be  carefully  looked  into  and  thus  defeat 
their  end.  The  author  last  quoted  says:  ''The 
French  prophets,  in  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  ventured  to  allege  miraculous  evidence,  and 
immediately  ruined  their  cause  by  their  temerity." 
This  is  a  very  important  fact  in  favor  of  Christianity, 
which  Hume  and  other  infidel  critics  have  failed  to 
observe. 

No  one  can  read  the  history  of  the  world's  great 
religionists  without  seeing  that  they  were  shrewd 
enough  to  know  the  necessity  of  such  evidence  as 
the  genuine  working  of  miracles  would  give;  but 
they  were  also  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  even  if 
they  were  disposed  to  try  the  experiment,  their  trick 
would  be  discovered,  and  thus  "the  last  error  would 
be  worse  than  the  first."  While  with  other  religions 
miracles  were  an  after-thought,  intended  to  work 
upon  the  minds  of  a  credulous  multitude  of  disciples, 
Christ  stood  single-handed  and  alone,  in  the  pres- 
ence  of   an    unbelieving  world,    and    proposed    to 


490  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

inaugurate  his  religion  on  the  foundation  of  his  mi- 
raculous power.  They  trusted  to  the  credulity  of 
disciples  for  a  faith  in  their  pretended  miracle-work- 
ing ;  Christ  wrought  miracles  to  beget  faith  in  the 
minds  of  the  incredulous  and  make  them  his  disci- 
ples. 

(2)  Christ's  miracles  zvere  of  a  benevolent  charac- 
ter. 

Of  the  thirty-three  which  have  been  reported,  all 
manifest  a  benevolent  purpose,  save  one — the  blast- 
ing of  the  fig-tree  (Matt,  xxi  :  18,  19).  But  even 
the  skeptic  must  justify  this  miracle,  because  by  so 
doing  he  would  impress  the  important  moral  lesson 
of  "  fruit-bearing,"  as  well  as  exhibit  his  marvelous 
power.  All  others  of  Christ's  miracles  of  which  we 
have  any  account  were  directly  helpful  to  mankind. 
He  went  about  healing  diseases  which  were  beyond 
the  physician's  skill.  Not  so  with  the  pretended 
miracles  which  are  catalogued  in  the  legends  of 
other  religions.  These  were,  in  the  main,  frivolous 
and  nonsensical.  Their  very  character  contradicts 
the  divinity  of  their  origin.  In  this  age  of  enlight- 
enment they  would  reflect  no  honor  even  upon  a 
man,  much  less  upon  a  wise  and  holy  God. 

(3)  Chrisfs  miracles  were  recorded  by  those  zvho 
witnessed  them. 

Not  only  did  the  disciples  record  these  marvelous 
events  which  they  had  witnessed  and  by  which  they 
had  been  converted,  but  by  giving  their  testimony 
they  were  forced  to  live  a  life  of  untold  suffering, 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  49I 

and  at  last  seal  the  truth  of  what  they  had  witnessed 
with  their  own  blood.  How  unlike  the  pretended 
miracles  which  have  come  down  to  us  with  the  vaga- 
ries of  other  religions  !  Most  of  them  were  recorded 
long  after  the  marvelous  events  are  said  to  have 
taken  place,  and  after  all  the  parties  concerned  were 
dead.  Hume,  in  his  efforts  to  show  the  incredibility 
of  miracles,  has,  unfortunately  for  his  cause,  insti- 
tuted a  comparison  between  the  miracles  of  Chris- 
tianity and  those  of  other  religions.  We  may  well 
suppose  that  England's  great  historian  and  skeptic 
has  carefully  scanned  the  world's  history  and  brought 
out  the  cases  of  miracles  which  are  the  nearest  a 
parallel  to  those  of  Christ.  But  if  the  reader  will 
examine  the  three  cases  presented  by  this  learned 
author  and  draw  the  parallel,  he  will  not  only  be  im- 
pressed with  his  complete  failure,  but  he  will  dis- 
cover a  disparagement  greatly  to  the  advantage  of 
the  Christian  miracles.  These  best  illustrations 
which  the  ages  could  present  were  only  marvelous 
events  which  were  said  to  have  taken  place.  They 
are  not  traced  to  any  reliable  source.  So  far  from 
being  recorded  by  those  who  were  eye-witnesses  to 
them,  and  who  were  made  to  suffer  for  their  testi- 
mony, it  is  not  even  reported  that  any  one  ever  saw 
these  miracles.  *'  These,  let  it  be  remembered,  are 
the  strongest  examples  which  the  history  of 
ages  supplies.  In  none  of  them  was  the  miracle 
wieqtiivocal ;  by  none  of  them  were  established 
prejudices  and  persuasions  overthrown  ;  of  none  of 


492  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

them  did  the  credit  make  its  way  in  opposition  to 
authority  and  power ;  by  none  of  them  were  many 
induced  to  commit  themselves,  and  that  in  contra- 
diction to  prior  opinions,  to  a  hfe  of  mortification, 
danger,  and  suffering ;  none  were  called  upon  to  at- 
test them  at  the  expense  of  their  fortunes  and 
safety."  (Paley's  "  Evidences  of  Christianity,"  p.  207.) 

(4)  Christ's  miracles  were  7iot  confined  in  time  or 
place. 

These  things  were  **not  done  in  a  corner,"  nor 
within  a  "  circle"  of  congenial  spirits,  under  the  ob- 
scurity of  a  darkened  room  ;  but  in  the  sparsely 
settled  country  and  in  the  crowded  city,  and  always 
under  the  light  of  day.  How  unlike  the  marvel- 
ous stories  which  have  come  to  us  through  heathen 
mythology !  No  one  can  study  Clarke's  "  Ten 
Great  Religions  of  the  World"  without  being  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  in  all  they  sought  seclu- 
sion. Paul,  whose  conversion  was  the  result  of  a 
miracle,  and  who  was  the  prince  of  all  the  Apostles, 
was  remarkable  in  that  he  well-nigh  converted  every 
court  before  which  he  was  tried.  And  his  marvel- 
ous power  before  governors  and  kings  was  in  the 
stress  that  he  laid  on  the  publicity  of  Christ's  mira- 
cles, as  evincing  his  divine  authority  and  power  to 
save  from  sin.  Not  a  case  is  recorded  in  which 
there  was  the  slightest  attempt  at  duplicity. 

(5)  Christ's  miracles  were  capable  of  being  tested. 
Tested,  not  by  friends,  but  by  enemies  as  well.  The 

case  of  the  man  born  blind  (John  ix  :  1-34)  was  sub- 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL  POWER.  493 

mitted  to  his  bitterest  enemies.  And  they,  after 
they  had  examined  and  re-examined,  to  learn  first 
from  the  parents  that  their  son  was  born  blind,  and 
then,  from  examination,  that  sight  had  been  given 
to  him,  were  convinced  that  a  notable  miracle  had 
been  wrought ;  and  the  only  fault  they  could  allege 
was  in  the  fact  that  it  had  been  wrought  on  the 
*'  Sabbath-day."  All  the  parties  to  the  marvelous 
transaction  were  thoroughly  examined,  not  by 
friends,  but  by  the  most  inveterate  enemies.  This 
case  can  be  disposed  of  in  but  one  of  two  ways :  we 
must  either  deny  the  record,  or  consent  to  the  fact 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  of  God. 

The  raising  of  Lazarus  too  (John,  ch.  xi)  was  an 
event  which  could  be  thoroughly  tested.  Like  the 
man  who  had  been  born  blind,  Lazarus  was  there 
to  be  examined.  After  his  resurrection  he  abode 
with  his  sisters  as  before,  and  moved  among  the 
Jews  of  Jerusalem.  Had  it  been  false,  then  was 
the  time  and  there  was  the  place  when  the  false- 
hood would  have  been  exposed  by  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees  who  were  lying  in  wait  for  all  such  oppor- 
tunities. But  so  far  from  being  able  to  discover 
any  trick,  *'  many  of  the  Jews  who  came  to  Mary, 
and  had  seen  the  things  which  Jesus  did,  believed 
on  him."  How  unlike  the  reputed  miracles  of  other 
religions !  In  the  few  cases  which  were  humane,  the 
parties  who  had  been  restored  vanished  like  a  myth, 
and  the  persons  who,  it  was  claimed,  had  witnessed 
the  marvelous  events  had  died.     When  the  record 


494  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

was  made,  therefore,  there  were  no  means  of  testing 
its  truthfulness. 

(6)  Christ's  oft-repeated  efforts  at  performing  a 
miracle  never  failed. 

This  is  a  peculiarity  which  belongs  only  to  Christ. 
The  third  reported  case  of  wonder-working,  as  cited 
by  Hume,  tells  of  repeated  efforts  which  resulted  in 
miscarriage.  Of  the  thousands  who  applied  for  help 
only  nine  were  said  to  be  miraculously  cured.  And 
such  was  the  nature  of  their  diseases,  that  we  can 
readily  see  how  the  influences  of  superstition  might 
be  greatly  helpful.  With  Christ  there  was  no  de- 
tention, no  failure,  but  every  step  was  as  the  step  of 
Deity,  and  every  result  as  perfect  as  the  movement 
of  the  stars. 

We  have  thus  briefly  pointed  out  some  of  the 
peculiarities  which  distinguished  the  miracles  of  our 
Lord  from  those  of  any  other  religionists  the  leg- 
ends of  which  have  come  down  to  us  through  the 
world's  history.  And  while  we  leave  the  Biblical 
student  to  substitute  others,  it  must  be  obvious  to 
all  that  the  peculiarities  already  enumerated  place 
Christ  without  an  approximate  parallel,  justly  claim- 
ing the  implicit  faith  of  the  world  by  a  supernatural 
power  which  has  endured  the  criticism  of  the  accu- 
mulated wisdom  of  the  ages. 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  49$ 

SECTION   (V). 

Evidences  of  Chrisfs  Miracles. 

As  the  foregoing  suggestions  have  prepared  us  for 
the  positive  proof  of  the  supernatural  power  of  Jesus, 
we  may  proceed  directly  with  the  evidence  in  its 
natural  order. 

(i)  Chrisfs  own  Testimony, 
That  Jesus  claimed  miraculous  power  none  can 
dispute  without  denying  the  most  important  part  of 
his  history.  Accepting  this  record  as  true,  then, 
that  he  professed  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind, 
unstop  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  loose  the  tongue  of  the 
dumb,  and  raise  the  dead, — events  which  belong  only 
to  God, — are  facts  too  patent  to  be  denied.  The 
process  of  argument  which  will  eliminate  the  mira- 
cles from  Christ's  biography  will,  if  carried  to  its 
legitimate  conclusion,  destroy  the  entire  history. 
When  Jesus  stood  by  the  grave  of  him  who  had 
been  dead  four  days,  and  in  the  presence  of  friends 
and  enemies  said,  "  Come  forth,"  and  the  seeming 
dead  appeared  alive,  he  knew  whether  that  was  a 
fact  or  a  deception.  If  a  "  fact,"  it  settles  once  and 
forever  the  truth  of  his  miraculous  power  and  the 
divinity  of  his  mission.  And  if  redoubled  assurance 
be  needed,  it  is  found  in  the  fact  of  the  absolute 
purity  of  the  religion  which  this  marvelous  transac- 
tion went  to  establish.     But  if  we  suppose  this  event 


496  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

to  be  a  deception,  and  that  Jesus  knew  it  to  be  such, 
as  he  r^ust  have  known  if  it  was  so,  then  we  are 
driven  to  the  absurd  conclusion  that  Christ  went 
about  practicing  a  lie  in  order  to  establish  a  religion 
of  truth  and  purity.  Nor  can  it  be  said  that  Jesus 
was  honestly  mistaken,  supposing  it  to  be  a  verita- 
ble transaction,  when  it  was  nothing  but  a  trick. 
This  would  involve  a  belief  in  a  miracle  greater  than 
that  of  raising  the  dead.  The  theory  that  Christ 
was  an  impostor,  though  once  the  stronghold  of  infi- 
delity, is  now  entirely  abandoned  by  those  whose 
intelli^rence  and  moral  character  entitle  them  to  re- 
spect.  And  yet  to  believe  that  Jesus  was  honest  is 
to  conclude  that  he  raised  the  dead  when  he  pre- 
tended to.  This  concession  reaches  the  conclusion 
that  Christ  possessed  supernatural  power,  in  that  he 
did  the  thing  which  only  God  could  do. 

As  to  the  truth  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity, 
we  might  rest  the  case  in  the  testimony  already 
given.  For  example,  suppose  an  honest  and  com- 
petent witness  was  called  into  court,  and  was  to  tes- 
tify that  a  certain  event  did  occur,  with  which  he 
was  so  related  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  him  to 
be  mistaken  :  we  submit  if  there  be  a  court  of  justice 
in  the  land  that  could  do  anything  else  than  to  de- 
cide the  case  according  to  that  testimony. 

(2)   Testimony  of  the  Apostles. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Christ  startled  the 
world  with  the  announcement  that  he  was  a  minister 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   TOWER.  497 

from  the  court  of  heaven,  bearing  a  message  from 
God  to  man  ;  and  that,  in  attestation  of  this  high 
claim,  he  professed  to  do  those  things  which  belong 
only  to  God.  Under  all  the  circumstances,  we  have 
maintained  that  the  personal  testimony  of  Jesus  to 
this  claim  is  sufficient  to  establish  its  truth.  But, 
to  put  the  question  beyond  any  reasonable  cavil,  we 
are  providentially  furnished  with  outside  testimony. 

To  understand  the  competency  and  full  weight  of 
such  testimony,  we  should  learn  the  character  and 
number  of  the  witnesses,  and  know  the  nature  and 
frequency  of  those  marvelous  events  to  which  they 
testify ;  and  thus  be  able  to  judge  as  to  the  proba- 
bility, or  even  possibility,  of  their  being  deceivers 
or  deceived.  We  should  inquire,  furthermore,  as  to 
the  relation  of  these  witnesses  to  the  miraculous 
events  which  they  report,  and  thus  determine  as  to 
whether  or  not  they  are  fully  competent  to  testify. 
Still  further,  we  should  determine  as  to  the  degree 
of  conviction  which  fastened  itself  upon  their  minds 
touching  the  absolute  truth  of  those  miraculous 
things  of  which  they  were  eye-witnesses. 

If  these  several  steps  are  carefully  taken,  in  exam- 
ining the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  touching  the 
fact  of  Christ's  miraculous  power,  it  will  appear,  we 
trust,  that  human  judgment  will  be  convinced,  be- 
yond any  reasonable  doubt,  that  the  power  behind 
it  all  was  **  God  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself."  We  can  readily  see  that  while  one  man, 
or  even  a  number  of  men,  whose  veracity  is  under 
32 


498  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

suspicion,  might  report  a  given  event  to  have  oc- 
curred at  a  given  time  and  place,  yet  the  report  may- 
be accepted  as  doubtful.  And  if  the  event  testified 
to  be  of  a  marvelous  character,  we  might  reject  it 
entirely  on  the  ground  that  it  is  more  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  testimony  is  false  than  that  the 
reported  transaction  was  real.  But  if  another  man, 
or  set  of  men,  whose  veracity  has  never  been  im- 
peached, were  to  come  forward  and  testify  to  the 
same  marvelous  event,  conviction  of  its  truth  would 
take  the  place  of  doubt  and  disbelief. 

The  witnesses  under  review  were  twelve  in  num- 
ber, who,  though  not  learned,  were  nevertheless  men 
of  great  good  sense,  against  whose  veracity  not  a 
breath  of  suspicion  had  been  breathed.  Moreover, 
the  morality  which  they  established,  and  the  lives 
which  they  lived,  reaffirmed  the  sincerity  of  their 
testimony.  Though  the  events  which  they  report 
were  of  a  miraculous  character,  which  the  mind  is 
naturally  averse  to  believe,  yet  such  were  their 
nature  and  frequency  that  it  was  not  probable,  or 
even  possible,  for  them  to  have  been  deceived.  It 
is  not  one  honest  man  testifying  to  one  miracle,  but 
twelve  truthful  men  giving  their  testimony  of  thou- 
sands of  miracles,  as  we  may  suppose,  of  which  more 
than  thirty  have  been  recorded.  Nor  were  these 
miracles  done  in  a  day  and  at  a  given  place,  but 
they  ran  through  three  years,  and  were  wrought  in 
country  and  city,  in  the  presence  of  a  few  friends 
and  a  multitude  of  foes. 


CHRIST  S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  499 

And  such  was  the  character  of  the  most  of  these 
miracles  that  it  was  not  possible  in  the  nature  of 
things  for  men  of  sound  sense  to  be  mistaken. 
Neither  the  olden-time  artifice  of  juggling  nor  the 
modern-time  tricks  of  legerdemain  will  account  for 
the  opening  of  the  eyes  of  a  man  born  blind,  much 
less  the  bringing  to -life  of  one  who  had  been  dead 
four  days.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  believe  that  twelve 
intelligent  men  were  honestly  deceived  as  to  whether 
five  thousand  men,  besides  women  and  children,  were 
fed  from  five  loaves  and  two  fishes  by  superhuman 
instrumentalities.  The  man  who  can  believe  that 
men  of  such  number  and  character  could  be  hood- 
winked for  three  successive  years  with  such  events 
as  are  recorded,  believes  in  a  greater  miracle  than  is 
referred  to  Jesus.  For,  certainly,  to  succeed  in  mak- 
ing those  twelve  intelligent  men  believe  that  those 
seeming  marvelous  events  were  facts,  when  they 
were  mere  deceptions,  would  be  the  greatest  miracle 
of  all. 

Moreover,  we  cannot  believe  from  the  history  that 
these  twelve  witnesses  were  in  such  relation  to  these 
miracles  which  were  being  wrought  day  after  day 
for  three  years  as  to  render  their  testimony  incom- 
petent. They  were  not  **  seeing  through  a  glass 
darkly,"  but  they  stood  ''  face  to  face"  with  them. 
Nor  were  these  things  "  done  in  a  corner,*' nor  in 
the  darkness,  but  in  their  open  presence  and  under 
the  light  of  day.  Luke  gives  an  account  of  Jesus 
with  his  disciples  going  to  the  city  of  Nain.     On 


500  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

arriving  at  the  gate  of  the  city  they  met  a  funeral 
procession,  following  a  dead  man,  the  only  son  of  a 
widow.  "And  when  the  Lord  saw  her,  he  had  com- 
passion on  her,  and  said  unto  her.  Weep  not.  And 
he  came  and  touched  the  bier :  and  they  that  bare 
him  stood  still.  And  he  said,  Young  man,  I  say  unto 
thee,  Arise.  And  he  that  was  dead  sat  up,  and  began 
to  speak.  And  he  delivered  him  to  his  mother" 
(Luke  vii  :  11-18).  Now  if,  by  largest  stretch  of 
imagination,  we  can  suppose  that  these  disciples 
were  mistaken  in  believing  that  they  witnessed  this 
miraculous  event  which  is  said  to  have  taken  place 
not  only  in  their  presence  but  in  that  of  "  much 
people,"  if  we  would  be  consistent,  we  must  go  on 
until  we  take  in  all  the  marvelous  transactions  which 
occurred  during  all  those  years,  and  conclude  that 
what  these  twelve  men  of  intelligence  honestly  be- 
lieved to  be  veritable  transactions  were,  after  all, 
nothing  but  the  inventions  of  falsehood,  by  which 
they  had  been  successfully  hoodwinked. 

It  must  be  observed,  moreover,  that  these  won- 
derful things  which  occurred  during  the  life  of  Je- 
sus, not  only  made  an  impression  upon  the  minds  of 
these  disciples,  but  sealed  a  conviction  that  neither 
time,  persuasion,  nor  suffering  unto  death  could  re- 
move. As  the  strength  of  one's  conviction  is  in  the 
ratio  of  the  evidence  received,  we  may  readily  sup- 
pose that  twelve  intelligent  and  honest  men  might 
give  their  testimony  in  favor  of  the  occurrence  of 
a  marvelous  phenomenon  for  which  they  would  not 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  50I 

be  willing  to  suffer.  The  personal  sacrifice  they  are 
willing  to  make  determines,  first,  the  importance 
which  they  attach  to  the  event  of  which  they  tes- 
tify, and,  secondly,  the  degree  of  conviction  which 
has  fastened  itself  upon  their  minds  as  to  the  truth 
of  the  story.  If,  for  example,  the  miraculous  trans- 
action of  which  they  witness  involved  all  that  they 
held  dear  in  this  world  and  that  which  is  to  come, 
and  if  the  evidence  which  they  had  of  the  truth  of 
that  transaction  had  removed  the  last  shadow  of  a 
doubt  from  their  minds,  then,  and  then  only,  would 
they  be  willing  to  surrender  all  that  the  world  calls 
good  and  great,  and  willingly  offer  their  lives  in  at- 
testation of  the  truth  of  their  testimony.  This  is 
exactly  the  state  of  the  case. 

These  disciples  were  with  Jesus  during  the  years 
of  his  earthly  ministry,  and,  at  places  and  times 
without  number,  heard  what  he  had  to  say  of  his 
religion,  its  origin,  and  its  infinite  importance  to 
them  for  the  '"  life  which  now  is  and  that  which  is  to 
come;"  they  were  eye-witnesses,  again  and  again, 
to  those  miracles  which  were  wrought  in  attestation 
of  the  heavenly  origin  of  this  religion :  and  the 
character  and  frequency  of  the  miracles  must  have 
removed  from  their  minds  the  last  shadow  of  a 
doubt  as  to  their  absolute  reality.  To  suppose 
otherwise  is  to  believe  that  twelve  intelligent  and 
honest  men  disclaimed  their  previous  convictions  of 
truth  and  avowed  their  faith  in  a  new  and  unheard-of 
religion;  willingly  put  all  their  earthly  possessions 


502  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

into  jeopardy  and  stared  at  the  face  of  grim  poverty, 
sacrificed  their  good  name  upon  the  altar  of  their 
devotion,  and  chose  to  be  despised  and  hated  of  all 
men ;  left  their  homes,  their  friends,  and  all  earthly 
endearments  to  go  willingly  forth  into  a  wicked 
world,  to  have  all  the  suffering  heaped  upon  them 
that  Satanic  ingenuity  could  invent  and  cruelty 
could  inflict ;  "  endured  hardness  as  good  soldiers" 
for  thirty,  forty,  and  even  sixty  years,  and  then, 
each  and  all,  with  one  exception,  sealed  their  testi- 
mony with  their  own  blood:  and  that  they  willingly 
made  all  these  unheard-of  sacrifices  during  all  these 
years,  while  doubts  were  in  their  minds  as  to  the 
truth  of  their  testimony  !  Such  a  belief  is  devoid  of 
sound  judgment. 

When  we  carefully  take  into  account  the  charac- 
ter and  number  of  these  disciples, — their  personal 
relation  to  Jesus  for  three  years  of  his  ministry, 
during  which  time  they  heard  what  he  said  and 
were  eye-witnesses  to  what  he  did, — and,  especially, 
when  we  remember  that  the  divinity  of  those  words 
and  deeds  so  riveted  themselves  into  the  minds  of 
these  disciples  that  the  conviction  could  not  be 
wiped  out  by  all  the  combined  forces  of  earth  and  hell, 
— when  all  these  things  are  taken  into  the  account, 
sound  reason  can  hardly  conclude  that  these  twelve 
men  went  forth  publishing  a  lie  in  claiming  that  the 
Founder  of  their  religion  was  himself  a  miracle  in  his 
life,  his  death,  and  his  resurrection. 

If  we  consent  to  the  history  as  it  has  come  down 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  503 

to  US,  certainly  we  must  be  agreed  upon  the  follow- 
ing propositions,  viz. : 

First,  that  such  was  the  nature  of  these  marvel- 
ous transactions,  and  such  their  frequency,  running 
through  three  years,  that  these  disciples,  who  were 
eye-witnesses  during  all  this  time,  could  not  have 
been  deluded  into  believing  that  they  were  realities 
when  in  fact  they  were  nothing  but  deceptions. 
Certainly,  they  must  have  known  whereof  they  af- 
firmed. 

Secondly,  that  they  honestly  believed,  without  a 
shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  Jesus  possessed  miraculous 
power.  To  suppose  otherwise  is  to  believe  that 
they  played  the  part  of  hypocrites  to  a  degree  of 
self-sacrifice  which  presents  them  as  a  greater  mira- 
cle than  any  they  ever  published. 

(3)   Testimony  of  those  who  heard  the  Apostles, 

If  we  are  prepared  to  believe  that  these  first  propa- 
gators of  Christ's  religion  believed  that  their  Master 
possessed  superhuman  power,  and  that  he  was 
miraculously  raised  from  the  dead,  we  can  hardly 
imagine  as  the  remotest  possibility  that  they  would 
rely  for  success  on  the  presentation  of  minor  con- 
siderations. 

We  must  remember  ^lat  there  was  no  city  in  the 
world  which  was  more  intelligently  devoted  to  its 
religion  than  Jerusalem.  We  must  remember,  fur- 
thermore, that  these  illiterate  Galileans  had  under- 
taken the  most  difficult  task  of  overturning  this 
lon2-established  religion  and  building:  up  one  that 


504  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

was  new  and  unheard-of.  When  we  consider  the 
native  pride  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  their  deep- 
rooted  prejudice  against  the  Galileans,  and  the  te- 
nacity with  which  they  clung  to  their  religion, — if, 
under  these  circumstances,  we  suppose  that  these 
humble  fishermen  resorted  to  nothing  but  moral 
suasion  and  yet  created  an  unbounded  excitement, 
we  must  believe  that  their  persuasive  powers  were 
of  a  miraculous  character.  Look  which  way  we 
may,  reason  is  confronted  with  a  miracle. 

But  we  are  not  left  to  mere  supposition.  The 
facts  of  the  history  clearly  set  forth  that  the  dis- 
ciples relied  wholly  upon  the  miracles  in  the  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Imagine  Peter, 
the  illiterate  stranger  and  humble  fisherman,  '*  stand- 
ing up  with  the  eleven"  in  that  great  city,  and  in 
the  presence  of  that  vast  multitude  which  a  little 
while  ago  were  crying,  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him !" 
and  who  had  succeeded  in  putting  to  death  the 
despised  Nazarene,  supposing  that  thus  they  had 
forever  crushed  the  new  heresy.  Imagine  the  differ- 
ent lines  of  thought  that  were  open  to  this  new  and 
unheard-of  orator.  He  might  have  proceeded  to 
show  the  superiority  of  the  religion  of  Christ  over 
that  of  Judaism — that  it  was  destined,  under  God, 
to  revolutionize  the  world,  unify  all  religions,  and 
make  the  kingdoms  of  earth  to  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ.  All  this  might 
have  been  truthfully  said,  and  much  of  it  we  have 
lived  to  see  accomplished.     But  Peter's  mind  was 


CHRIST'S   SUPERNATURAL   POWER.  $0$ 

surcharged   with   truth  which   would    more   readily 
convince  their  judgment  and  which  would  be  vastly 
more  pungent   in   convicting  and   converting  their 
wicked    hearts.      He  therefore  seized  the  opportu- 
nity of  rehearsing  the  awful  facts  which  had  been 
publicly  beheld    during   the   past    few  weeks.     He 
called  that  wicked  assembly  to  witness  while  he  re- 
hearsed the  truth  which  was  known  to  them,  that 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God  among 
you  by  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs,  which  God 
did  by  him  in   the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves 
also  know :  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determi- 
nate counsel  and   foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have 
taken,    and    by   wicked    hands   have    crucified    and 
slain  :  whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the 
pains   of    death"   (Acts    ii  :  22-24).      Thus  we    see 
that   he   referred   his   congregation  to  nothing  but 
their  own  wickedness  and  to  the  miraculous  power 
of   Jesus   the    Christ.      Imagine  the   consternation 
which  seized  that  vast  assembly  thus  brought  under 
the  influence  of  those  pungent  truths,  in  regard  to 
facts  of  which  they  themselves  were  witnesses,  when 
"  they  were  pricked   in   their  hearts,  and   said  unto 
Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  Men  and  breth- 
ren, what  shall  we  do?"     We  learn  from  the  record 
that  in  a  single  day  three  thousand  were  made  not 
only  to  believe  in  the  miraculous  power  of  Christ, 
but  to  confess  their  sins  and  sue  for  pardon. 

Thus  we  have    added    to    the    testimony  of   the 
twelve  disciples  that   of  three  thousand  who  were 


506  REASON  AND    REVE«LATION. 

willing  to  stake  all  their  earthly  possessions  upon 
the  truth  of  Christ's  miraculous  power,  and  the  fact 
that  God  had  raised  him  from  the  dead.  Nor  did 
the  work  stop  here ;  but  beginning  in  this  great 
city,  where  these  miraculous  events  had  occurred, 
this  new  religion,  under  the  influence  of  preaching 
like  that  of  Peter,  went  forth  as  upon  the  wings  of 
the  morning,  destined  to  dispel  all  moral  darkness 
and  illuminate  the  world  with  the  light  of  its 
heavenly  truth.  And  of  all  the  millions  who,  in  the 
different  ages  and  countries  of  the  world,  have  con- 
fessed faith  in  the  religion  of  Jesus,  the  very  few 
who  would  eliminate  the  miraculous  from  it  are  only 
sufficient  to  illustrate  the  universality  of  the  convic- 
tion that  Christ  had  power  to  do  those  things  which 
belong  only  to  God. 

We  dismiss  this  topic  for  the  present  with  the 
following  statement  and  conclusion  :  In  the  light  of 
history  we  must  conclude  that  the  Christian  temple 
which  has  been  going  up  for  near  two  thousand 
years,  and  which  still  mounts  higher,  rests  upon 
the  foundation  of  Christ's  miraculous  power.  This 
truth  no  one  will  have  the  temerity  to  deny.  If  the 
modern  effort  to  eliminate  from  Christianity  all  the 
miraculous  elements  should  be  successful,  then 
should  we  have  presented  to  us  the  enigma  of  all 
enigmas,  in  that  a  system  of  ethics  which  seeks  only 
to  establish  truth  and  elevate  the  world,  and  which 
has  been  so  successful  in  accomplishing  its  aim,  has 
nevertheless  been  founded  upon  a  falseJiood.     This 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  $0^ 

is  to  conclude  that  God  has  constructed  a  rehgion 
of  universal  unity  and  of  unexampled  purity  and 
power  mainly  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  lie 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  , 

How  are  we  to  judge  his  character? — He  knew  he  would  be  put 
to  death. — He  was  willing  to  die. — He  believed  what  he  said. — 
His  personal  merit  compared  with  that  of  other  men. — Faults 
of  his  professed  followers  not  a  testimony  against  his  character. 

In  determining  the  question  of  human  character 
we  should  first  clearly  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  term.  Furthermore,  if  we  would  do  justice  to  the 
life  of  an  individual,  we  must  take  into  account  the 
circumstances  of  his  birth,  education,  and  personal 
environments.  And  still  further,  we  should  consider 
the  admissibility  or  competency  of  the  testimony  by 
which  we  determine  the  question  of  personal  char- 
acter. 

SECTION  (l). 
How  are  we  to  judge  his  character? 

True  character  is  not  what  a  man  thinks^  or  saj^s,  or 
doeSf  but  what  he  is.  A  man  may  be  correct  in  his 
theory  of  right-doing  and  orthodox  in  his  theology, 
and  yet  wofully  false  and  heterodox  as  to  his  inner 


508  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

self.  This  is  obvious  when  we  consider  that  correct 
thinking  is  the  result  of  man's  intellectuality  and 
has  but  little  to  do  with  his  moral  and  spiritual  char- 
acter. He  may  be  an  angel  in  intellect,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  a  devil  at  heart.  On  the  other  hand, 
for  the  want  of  native  intellectuality  and  external 
enlightenment  a  man  may  come  to  false  conclusions 
on  questions  of  theology  and  morals  and  yet  possess 
true  nobility  of  character.  We  do  not  say  that 
the  clear  apprehension  of  truth  will  not  help  to  es- 
tablish excellency  of  life,  but  only  that  true  character 
is  what  a  man  is  and  not  what  he  thinks.  The  best 
thinkers  are  sometimes  the  greatest  devils. 

If  accurate  thinking  is  not  character,  neither  are 
words,  however  properly  spoken.  If  a  man  be  an 
educated  devil,  as  is  possible,  he  may  make  a  very 
wise  choice  of  words,  with  the  view  to  accomplish- 
ing a  wicked  purpose.  Language  is  only  an  instru- 
mentality in  the  accomplishment  of  ends.  While 
methods  may  in  themselves  be  good,  they  may  also 
be,  and  often  are,  used  for  the  accomplishment  of 
that  which  is  wofuUy  wicked.  While  words  are 
usually  a  true  index  to  the  inner  life  of  the  soul, 
they  are  not  that  inner  life,  and  hence  in  the  com- 
position of  true  character  they  form  no  necessary 
part.  Satan  may  put  on  the  garb  of  an  angel,  but 
he  remains  a  devil,  however  truthfully  and  even  lov- 
ingly he  talks. 

Nor  is  the  outer  life  true  character.  Though 
human  governments  and   society  recognize  words 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  509 

and  deeds  as  making  up  character,  we  are  not  to  in- 
fer that  they  regard  these  outward  manifestations  as 
anything  more  than  an  index  to  the  inner  Hfe  of  the 
soul.  They  are  aware  that  true  character  is  beyond 
their  depths.  Man  can  take  cognizance  only  of  these 
outer  manifestations.  Hence  human  laws  have 
reference  to  the  overt  act.  But  we  have  learned  by 
observation  and  experience  that  both  words  and 
deeds  may  greatly  belie  the  soul's  inner  self.  "  The 
heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately 
wicked:  who  can  know  it?" 

Hence  we  conclude  that  He  who  made  the  soul 
looks  not  to  those  things  which  come  within  the 
purview  of  human  understanding,  but  His  eye 
pierces  the  inner  chamber,  sees  the  motives  and  as- 
pirations of  the  soul,  and  enters  into  sympathy  only 
with  purity  of  aim  and  aspirations  after  truth  and 
righteousness.  The  divine  insight  determines  char- 
acter by  what  a  man  is  and  not  by  what  he  thinks, 
says,  and  does,  and  legislates  not  only  for  the  overt 
act,  but  for  the  "  heart,  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of 
life."  From  this  it  must  be  apparent  that,  while  the 
soul's  enlightenment  through  the  instrumentality  of 
truth  is  of  great  moment,  it  is  not  absolutely  indis- 
pensable to  true  character.  The  great  Father,  who 
goes  back  of  human  action,  must  look  complacently 
and  approvingly  upon  every  man,  whether  in 
heathendom  or  Christendom,  who  earnestly  desires 
truth  and  ricrhteousness.  The  increase  of  moral 
obligation  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  increase  of  spiritual 


5IO  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

insight  into  religious  truth.  It  may  be  objected  that, 
if  the  coming  of  greater  knowledge  brings  greater 
responsibility,  then  the  sending  of  the  light  of  truth 
to  those  who  sit  in  the  shadow  of  darkness  is  of 
doubtful  utility.  But  we  are  to  remember  that  God 
has  designed  a  head  of  intelligence  as  well  as  a  heart 
of  honesty  and  an  earnest  desire  after  truth  and  right- 
eousness. The  Father  would  first  have  the  heart 
set  on  right  doings  and  then  enlighten  the  under- 
standing, that  the  right  doing  may  be  of  the  noblest 
kind. 

The  question  which  has  to  do  with  the  subject 
under  review,  is,  "Can  a  man  successfully  deceive, 
through  his  whole  life,  and  with  fair  words  and  deeds 
cover  up  his  character?"  In  reply  it  maybe  said 
that  his  ability  to  continually  deceive  depends,  first, 
upon  his  native  and  acquired  ability  to  play  the  part 
of  a  hypocrite,  and,  secondly,  upon  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  test  to  which  he  is  subjected.  Some 
men,  as  we  know,  are  remarkably  gifted  in  making 
others  believe,  by  word  and  deed,  what  is  not  true  ; 
while  other  men  seem  to  wear  their  character  on  the 
outside,  and  are  hence  ''  known  and  read  of  all  men." 
Paul  clearly  recognized  this  fact  when  he  charged 
Timothy  to  "  lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man,"  and 
then,  as  a  reason,  urges  the  fact  that  "  some  men's 
sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  before  to  judgment : 
and  some  men  they  follow  after."  Some  men's 
sins  are  perfectly  transparent  in  their  words  and 
lives,  while  others  cover  up  their  true  character 
under  plausible  words  and  a  seemingly  correct  life. 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  51I 

But  however  hypocritical  they  may  be,  and  how- 
ever successfully  they  may  deceive  others,  yet  there 
is  a  test  to  which  they  may  be  subjected  that  will 
strip  off  the  mask  and  discover  the  soul's  true  inner 
life.  If  a  man,  by  word  and  deed,  be  false  to  his 
inner  self,  however  successfully  he  may  hoodwink 
others,  he  himself  is  fully  cognizant  of  his  own 
hypocrisy.  And  as  these  words  and  deeds  which 
belie  the  heart  are  assumed  for  the  purpose  of  tem- 
poral success,  if  the  hope  of  this  be  removed,  it  will 
lay  bare  the  real  man.  The  soul,  in  its  normal  con- 
dition, treasures  life  above  all  worldly  possessions. 
Hence,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  life,  man  will 
yield  the  hope  of  every  earthly  treasure. 

It  may  be  objected,  however,  that  even  a  hypo- 
crite might  so  desire  to  perpetuate  his  good  name, 
that  he  would  yield  the  last  hope  of  life  rather  than, 
by  honest  word  and  deed,  reveal  what  he  is.  The 
many  cases  of  men's  meeting  death  boldly,  with  a  lie 
in  their  mouth,  can  hardly  be  cited  as  illustrative  of 
the  above  objection.  This  very  boldness  in  the  face 
of  death  may  be,  and  often  is,  in  the  hope  of  saving 
life.  But  even  if  we  grant  that  here  and  there  in 
the  world's  history  men  have  been  found  who  thought 
more  of  having  the  world  continue  to  believe  what 
they  knew  to  be  false  with  reference  to  their  own 
character  than  they  did  of  life,  yet  the  subject  under 
consideration  goes  beyond  and  above  even  this  sup- 
position. The  objection  bears  with  force  against 
those  only  who  have  been  compelled,  against  their 


512  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

will,  to  yield  their  lives.  But  in  the  case  of  Christ, 
though  he  was  brought  to  the  cross  for  what  he  had 
said  and  done,  yet  he  knowingly  and  willingly  gave 
up  his  life  for  the  truth  which  he  had  proclaimed 
and  the  life  which  he  had  lived.  The  history  of 
the  world  presents  not  a  solitary  case  where  a  man 
has  knowingly  and  willingly  died  for  what  he  be- 
lieved \.q  ht  false.  Nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  but 
honest  convictions  and  the  hope  of  future  reward 
can,  in  the  nature  of  things,  lead  to  such  personal 
sacrifice.  And  the  history  of  the  ages,  outside  of 
Christianity,  presents  to  us  but  very  few  who  have 
even  had  the  courage  to  willingly  anticipate  death 
for  the  sake  of  establishing  what  they  conceived  to 
be  reality.  When  Socrates  was  proffered  the  pre- 
cious boon  of  life  on  condition  that  he  should 
stealthily  escape  from  his  prison,  he  spurned  the 
offer  with  the  indignant  reply,  "  I  helped  to  make 
the  laws  of  Athens,  and  by  the  laws  of  Athens  I  am 
willino;  to  die."  But  this  was  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  philosophers,  who  had  the  deepest  convic- 
tions of  truth  and  an  abiding  hope  of  future  reward, 
who  had  the  moral  heroism  to  take  the  cup  into  his 
own  hand  and  willingly  drink  the  deadly  hemlock. 
Nor  does  the  man  live  who  can  intelligently  and 
honestly  call  in  question  the  sincerity  of  Him  who 
thus  willingly  died  for  what  he  conceived  to  be 
truth  and  right. 

It  may  be  objected  again  that,  while  the  man's 
willingness  to  die  may  be  proof  of  his  sincerity,  it 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  513 

by  no  means  follows  that  what  he  said  was  true  ; 
that  the  world  has  produced  not  a  few  honest  fanat- 
ics. This  objection,  however,  applies  only  to  those 
who  willingly  die  for  a  theory  or  opinion — something 
which  does  not  appeal  to  the  senses,  much  less  is 
a  matter  of  conscious  knowledge.  It  is  one  thing 
honestly  to  believe  a  proposition  to  which  we  have 
been  brought  through  reasoning  or  prejudice,  but  a 
very  different  thing  to  believe  a  conclusion  to  which 
we  have  been  led  by  observation  and  experience. 
While  it  is  possible  for  such  reasoning  to  lead  to  a 
false  decision,  conscious  knowledge  settles  the  ques- 
tion beyond  cavil.  And  this  is  precisely  the  kind 
of  truth  for  which  Christ  knowingly  and  willingly 
died :  not  truth  to  which  he  had  been  led  by  the 
process  of  deductive  reasoning,  but  rather  that  of 
conscious  knowledge.  When  Jesus  stood  by  the 
grave  and  said,  **  I  knew  that  thou  hearest  me 
always,"  both  the  fact  that  his  Father  always 
heard  him,  and  that  Lazarus  came  forth,  were  mat- 
ters of  his  own  positive  knowledge.  If  this  was 
nothing  but  ''the  olden-time  artifice  of  juggling," 
Jesus  knew  it ;  but  if  the  result  of  supernatural 
power,  it  was  not  a  matter  of  speculation,  but  of 
consciousness. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  the  words  and  deeds  for 
which  Christ  died,  that  they  are  taken  out  of  the 
field  of  metaphysical  speculation  and  fanaticism  into 
that  of  positive  knowledge.  If  he  knew  that  what 
he  said  and  did  were  true,  then  there  is  no  room  for 
33 


514  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

cavil.  And  that  he  was  thoroughly  sincere  is  clearly 
evinced  in  the  fact  that  he  voluntarily  suffered  upon 
the  cross  for  the  words  he  had  uttered  and  the  life 
he  had  lived. 

We  proceed  to  show  that  the  character  of  Jesus 
was  not  only  above  suspicion,  but  was  absolutely 
divine. 

(i)  Christ  knew  that  he  would  be  put  to  death  for 
what  he  had  said  and  done.  While  yet  in  Galilee, 
and  more  than  sixty  miles  from  the  place  of  appre- 
hension and  suffering,  Jesus  took  his  twelve  disciples 
aside  and  said,  ''  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem  :  and 
the  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  unto  the  chief 
priests  and  unto  the  scribes,  and  they  shall  condemn 
him  to  death,  and  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles 
to  mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  him  :  and 
the  third  day  he  shall  rise  again."  This  prediction, 
which  was  repeated  more  than  once  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  disciples,  and  corresponded  exactly  with 
the  fulfillment,  clearly  shows  that  Jesus  was  not 
only  conscious  of  the  fact  that  he  would  be  put  to 
death  for  what  he  had  said  and  done,  but  knew  all 
the  details  connected  with  the  awful  tragedy. 

(2)  He  not  only  knezv  that  he  zvould  die,  but  he 
was  also  ivilliugto  die.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
at  the  time  he  made  the  prediction  above  quoted  he 
was  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem  to  be  put  to  death.  As 
yet  he  had  not  been  arrested,  nor  had  the  authorities 
even  sent  a  requisition  demanding  his  presence.  He 
was  entirely  free  to  remain  in  his  own  country,  with- 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  515 

out  fear  of  molestation.  But  he  regarded  his  suffer- 
ing as  a  necessary  part  of  the  great  work  he  had 
come  to  accompHsh,  as  is  evinced  in  the  fact  that  he 
voluntarily  walked  into  the  jaws  of  death.  In  the 
very  presence  of  the  awful  event,  he  only  shrank 
from  it  so  far  as  to  exclaim,  "  Father,  if  thou  be 
willing,  remove  this  cup  from  me ;  nevertheless,  not 
my  will,  but  thine,  be  done"  (Luke  xxii :  42).  He 
believed,  as  he  said  after  his  resurrection,  that  ''thus 
it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the 
dead  on  the  third  day."  Under  this  conviction  he 
was  willing  to  die. 

(3)  He  Jionestly  believed  that  zvliat  he  said  and  did 
ivas  true.  As  we  have  seen,  no  man  will  voluntarily 
die  for  what  he  believes  to  be  false.  Before  it  is 
possible  in  the  nature  of  things  for  him  to  make  a 
sacrifice  of  himself,  he  must  at  least  honestly  believe 
that  he  is  offering  his  life  in  the  defense  of  the  truth. 
A  fanatic  he  may  be,  but  he  must,  nevertheless, 
have  the  deepest  and  most  sincere  convictions ;  else 
he  will  never  come  willingly  to  the  stake.  We  must 
therefore  believe  that  when  Jesus  left  Galilee  to  go 
up  to  Jerusalem,  fully  conscious  that  he  was  walking 
into  the  jaws  of  death,  he  had  not  a  doubt  of  the 
absolute  truth  of  what  he  had  publicly  proclaimed. 

(4)  //  zvas  not  possible  for  Christ  to  have  been  mis- 
taken. His  proclamations  were  not  those  of  philo- 
sophical reasoning,  much  less  that  of  metaphysical 
speculation.  The  fundamental  truths  which  made 
his  life  marvelous  and  sublime  were  with  him  mat- 


5l6  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ters  of  absolute  personal  knowledge.  Even  if  we 
suppose  it  to  be  possible  that  the  eyes  and  ears  of 
those  twelve  disciples  were  honestly  deceived  for 
all  those  years,  yet  it  is  beyond  a  possibility  for  us 
to  believe  that  Jesus  was  mistaken  as  to  the  method 
or  power  by  which  he  spoke  and  acted.  If  the 
above  propositions  be  true,  we  are  inevitably  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  Christ  was  all  that  he  claimed 
to  be,  and  that  he  spoke  by  divine  authority  in  pro- 
claiming the  fatherhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood 
of  man,  and  the  duty  and  destiny  of  our  race.  His 
gracious  words  and  saving  works  were  the  outflow 
of  a  life  which  was  not  only  above  suspicion,  but 
was  absolutely  holy  and  divine. 

SECTION  (ll). 

How  are  zve  to  judge  his  personal  merit  ? 

Two  things  determine  the  moral  quality  of  an 
individual ;  viz.,  first,  what  he  is  in  his  native  mental 
organism,  and,  secondly,  the  character  of  his  moral 
environments.  Whatever  may  be  said  with  refer- 
ence to  "  total  depravity"  on  the  one  hand,  or  "ab- 
solute purity"  on  the  other,  the  facts  of  observation 
and  experience  clearly  show  that  men  are  born  into 
the  world  with  both  predispositions  to  evil  and  nat- 
ural tendencies  to  good.  While  some  have  a  pre- 
ponderance of  native  good  quality,  others  are  more 
largely  prepossessed  with  bad  instincts.  Nor  are 
these  natural  tendencies  uniform.     Some  men  are 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  517 

born  with  a  predisposition  to  steal,  and  nothing  but 
eternal  vigilance  will  save  them  from  being  thieves. 
While  this  is  the  *'  besetting  sin,"  and  hence  the 
weak  point  which  must  be  guarded,  such  individuals 
are  often  relieved  from  keeping  guard  at  other 
points  on  the  line  of  defense  because  of  native  moral 
strength.  Other  men,  on  the  other  hand,  come  into 
the  world  with  a  natural  inclination  to  honesty,  and 
it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  convert  them  into 
thieves.  And  yet  these  same  individuals  have  other 
native  weaknesses  which  will  demand  prayerful 
watching,  else  the  arch-enemy,  who  is  ever  on  the 
alert,  will  break  in  and  despoil  what  is  beautiful. 

This  diversity  of  inborn  weakness  and  strength  is 
but  another  illustration  of  the  paternal  regard  of  a 
wise  Providence  who  has  thus  made  it  possible  for 
men  to  be  mutual  helpers  to  each  other.  It  is  no 
virtue  for  some  men  to  be  temperate,  for  the  reason! 
that  they  have  no  tendency  to  drunkenness.  But  if 
they  will  carefully  regard  their  own  natural  weak- 
nesses, they  will  learn  how  to  succor  those  who  are 
otherwise  tempted.  "  Bear  ye  one  another's  bur- 
dens." "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take 
heed  lest  he  fall."  While  this  inborn  weakness  and 
strength  make  it  possible  for  us  to  be  mutual  help- 
ers, yet  the  divine  injunction  is,  *'  Let  every  man 
bear  his  own  burden."  It  is  in  this  native  weakness 
that  he  stands  or  falls.  While  it  is  granted  that 
"Man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,"  it  is 
equally  true  that  "  Man  is  the  creature  of  circum- 


5l8  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

stances."  This  leads  to  the  observation  that,  while 
what  a  man  is  in  his  mental  organism  has  much  to 
do  with  his  developed  character,  the  contingencies 
with  which  he  is  surrounded  will  determine  largely 
what  he  shall  be.  The  highest  types  of  manhood 
are  usually  found  in  those  who  have  been  well  born 
and  equally  well  bred.  Exceptions  to  this  rule 
there  may  be,  but  they  are  only  sufficient  to  prove 
the  truth  of  the  proposition.  A  man,  however,  may 
be  never  so  well  born,'  yet  if  he  be  bred  under  the  in- 
fluence of  heathen  mythology,  a  heathen  he  will  be. 
In  this  Christian  country  we  are  Protestants  or 
Catholics,  more  from  the  circumstances  of  birth  and 
education  than  from  any  inborn  predisposition  to  be 
one  or  the  other.  This  fact  clearly  recognized  v/ill 
be  destructive  to  narrowness  and  helpful  to  Chris- 
tian charity. 

"  'Tis  education  forms  the  common  mind  ; 
Just  as  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's  inclined." 

While  the  mind  instinctively  decides  upon  the 
questions  of  right  and  wrong,  and  attributes  moral 
character  to  words  and  deeds,  yet  its  correct  deci- 
sions upon  these  questions  depend  upon  the  nature 
of  its  enlightenment.  If  the  world  is  wiser  and  bet- 
ter now  than  in  former  ages,  its  superiority  is  not 
found  in  the  fact  that  men  are  better  by  nature  than 
in  former  times,  but  because  the  circumstances  of 
birth  and  education  have  been  more  favorable. 
Truly  great  men  now,  as  heretofore,  have  had  great 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  519 

opportunities.  Native  faculty  and  predisposition 
may  do  much,  but  they  cannot  do  enough  to  make 
a  truly  great  man.  A  Newton  or  a  Shakespeare 
could  not  have  sprung  up  out  of  a  community  of 
Hottentots.  The  great  men  of  Greece  and  Rome 
were  but  the  zenith  of  the  glory  to  which  the  pre- 
vious ages  had  brought  them.  "  One  man  lays  the 
foundation,  and  another  buildeth  thereupon/*  is  a 
proposition  as  true  in  ethical  science  and  moral  de- 
velopment as  as  it  is  in  intellectual  attainments.  A 
man's  theory  of  ethical  science  and  his  true  de- 
velopment of  moral  character  are  judged  and  appre- 
ciated from  the  standpoint  of  his  opportunities.  He 
does  no  more  than  embody  the  sentiments  of  his 
times,  or  at  most  go  a  little  in  advance  of  the  people 
of  his  age  and  country. 

If  we  judge  Christ,  in  his  moral  teaching  and 
character,  by  the  standard  of  human  greatness,  he  is 
at  once  taken  out  of  the  catalogue  of  the  world's 
great  men  and  placed  pre-eminently  above  all,  not 
as  the  outgrowth  of  the  exigencies  of  his  times,  but 
as  a  divinity  who  makes  his  own  circumstances  and 
lays  the  foundation  of  the  sublimest  manhood  for 
all  the  ages  to  come.  Though  he  lived  at  a  time 
when  moral  darkness  had  filled  the  world,  and  the 
blackness  of  darkness  had  enshrouded  the  minds  of 
men,  yet  he  flashed  out  upon  a  benighted  race  as  a 
full-orbed  sun.  Even  semi-enlightened  infidelity 
and  half-honest  atheism  have  conceded  that  so  far 
as  Christ's  teaching  and  personal  character  have  been 


520  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

impressed  upon  the  lives  of  men,  they  have  estab- 
lished the  best  system  of  morals  the  world  ever  saw. 
Moreover,  he  was  fully  prepared  to  practice  what 
he  preached.     If  he  taught  byword  the  relation  that 
men  sustain  to  God,  and  the  consequent  duty  to 
love  and  obey  him,  he  also  gave  the  example  of  will- 
ing obedience.     "  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done." 
If  he  revealed  by  public  instruction  the  relation  that 
man  sustains  to  universal  man,  and  the  consequent 
duty  of  doing  to  all  men  as  we  would  that  they 
should  do  to  us,  he  exemplified  his  teaching  by  a  life 
devoted  to  the  well-being  of  all  men,  whether  Jew  or 
Gentile.     He  had  not  come  to  follow  the  steps  of 
the  bigoted  Jew  nor  of  the    superstitious  Gentile, 
but  to  make  known  by  word  and  deed  the  father- 
hood of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man.     He  not 
only  went  about  doing  good,  but  his  very  thoughts 
were  divine  ;  his  words  and  even  his  personal  appear- 
ance must  have  been  supernal.     We  have  seen  how 
the  officers  sent  to  take  him  returned  without  laying 
hands  on  him,  giving  as  their  only  reason,  "  Never 
man  spake  like  this  man."     And  when  Judas  had 
received  his  "  band  of  men  and  officers"  and  went 
forth  in  the  darkness,  "with  lanterns,  torches,  and 
weapons,"  charged  with  the  duty  of  bringing  Christ 
before  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  at  the  words  of  the 
Master,    "  I  am  he,"    the  men  and  officers  **  went 
backward  and   fell  to  the  ground."     At  his  word, 
**  Follow  me,  and   I  will  make  you   fishers  of  men," 
men  left  their  business  pursuits  and  followed  him. 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  521 

As  we  look  back  to  the  time  when  Jesus  came,  and 
see  the  world  overwhelmed  in  idolatry,  superstition, 
and  moral  darkness,  we  see  Jesus  appearing  above 
all,  and  in  view  of  all,  saying,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the 
world."  And  though,  since  that  time,  the  world 
has  had  two  thousand  years  of  advancing  day,  the 
light  must  grow  apace  if  it  hopes  to  reach  the  zenith 
glory  of  his  light  in  ten  thousand  years  to  come. 

And  how  insignificant  and  contemptible  the  moral 
character  of  his  defamers,  when  compared  with  the 
glory  of  his  own  !  "  Of  Voltaire,  a  recent  biographer 
and  admirer  confessed  that  his  life  was  one  continu- 
ous grin  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  he  ridi- 
culed Shakespeare  with  all  the  freedom  that  he  did 
the  Scriptures.  Gibbon  seems  to  have  had  in  his 
composition  no  reverence,  no  regard  for  the  race,  no 
pity  for  the  poor,  but  to  have  been  sordid,  heartless, 
selfish,  full  of  vain-glory  and  a  desire  for  adulation. 
The  school  of  Hume  and  Hobbes  and  Bolingbroke 
taught  the  most  infamous  system  of  utilitarianism, 
claiming  that  female  virtue  was  no  excellence,  adul- 
tery no  crime,  and  monogamy  not  the  law  of  nature  : 
in  fact,  they  seem  to  have  advocated  the  principles 
which  have  blossomed  into  the  doctrines  of  free-love 
and  communism.  Rousseau,  in  his  'Confessions,* 
declares  himself  guilty  without  measure  and  without 
remorse.  None  of  these  men  went  to  any  barbarous 
isle  to  reclaim  the  savage  ;  nor  to  any  city  slums  to 
lift  up  the  wretched,  ignorant,  and  fallen  ;  nor  left 
behind  them  any  work  which  continued  to  bless  the 


522  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

world  after  they  were  gone.  Rather,  the  whole 
effect  of  their  lives  and  teachings  was  to  make  life 
more  difficult  and  cheerless,  to  sap  it  of  hope  and 
courage  and  inspiration.  Over  against  the  character 
and  records  of  such  men  as  those  place  the  names 
of  those  who  have  been  denounced  as  leading 
men  into  superstition — Moses,  John,  Paul,  Luther, 
Wesley — and  say,  for  yourselves,  to  which  class  you 
would  more  readily  commit  your  hearts  and  homes, 
the  instruction  of  your  children,  the  safety  and  honor 
of  society  and  the  state.  But  against  the  former 
and  far  above  the  latter  place  the  name  of  One  who 
in  his  single  individuality  would  outweigh  all  the 
infidels  of  all  time  ;  One  of  whom  Jean  Paul  Richter 
says  that  *  He  was  the  holiest  among  the  mighty 
and  the  mightiest  among  the  holy,  who  lifted  with 
his  pierced  hand  empires  off  their  hinges,  and  turned 
the  stream  of  centuries  out  of  its  channel,  and  still 
governs  the  ages  ;*  One  of  whom  Spinoza  said  that 
he  was  *the  symbol  of  divine  wisdom;'  One  of 
whom  Carlyle  says,  *  Higher  has  the  human  thought 
not  reached.  A  symbol  of  quite  perennial,  infinite 
character,  whose  significance  will  never  demand  to  be 
anew  inquired  into,  and  anew  made  manifest ;'  One 
of  whom  Herder  says  that  he  is  'the  realized  ideal 
of  humanity;*  One  of  whom  the  great  Napoleon 
said,  '  Sublimity  is  said  to  be  an  attribute  of  di- 
vinity :  what  name,  then,  shall  we  give  him  in 
whose  character  was  united  every  element  of  the 
sublime?'     And  to  all  these  testimonies  there  are 


THE   CHARACTER   OF   JESUS.  523 

not  wanting  the  eulogies  of  rationalists  and  infidels 
themselves — men  like  Parker,  Renan,  Diderot — who 
cannot  repress  their  admiration  for  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
May  it  not  be  said  of  him  that  his  name,  example, 
influence,  and  deeds  are  enough,  in  themselves,  to 
prove  that  the  greatest  is  always  the  holiest  ?"  (C.  S. 
Stockton,  in  "Christian  Thought,"  p.  296.) 

With  all  the  accumulated  light  of  the  ages,  in- 
fidels have  not  been  able  to  point  out  one  solitary 
blot  upon  the  spotless  life  of  Jesus ;  but  finding  his 
character  invulnerable  at  every  approach,  they  have 
shown  a  willingness  to  *'  catch  at  straws."  The 
words  *'  much  displeased  "  (Mark  x  :  14)  they  have 
sought  so  to  torture  as  to  make  it  appear  that  in- 
stead of  giving  a  magnanimous  rebuke  to  this  bigotry 
of  his  disciples,  Jesus  was  impetuous  and  angry  !  The 
weakness  of  the  criticism  only  illustrates  the  purity 
of  the  life  against  which  nothing  more  could  be  said. 

The  case  of  the  cleansing  of  the  temple,  and  the 
misconstructions  and  misconceptions  of  carping  crit- 
ics in  their  effort  to  find  some  flaw  in  the  character 
of  Jesus,  has  been  spoken  of  before.  The  spotless 
life  of  Jesus,  as  it  has  come  down  to  us  through  the 
mists  and  darkness  of  the  ages,  shines  out  with  a 
brilliancy  which  is  simply  incomparable  with  that  of 
the  wisest  and  best  men  who  have  ever  graced  our 
humanity. 

With  a  continued  popularity  which  has  had  no 
parallel ;  with  a  boldness  of  utterance  which  defied 
popular  sentiment,  and  marked  a  new  era  in  the 


524  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

world  of  thought ;  with  a  knowledge  which  leaped 
far  beyond  and  above  that  of  books,  teachers,  and 
the  world's  wisdom,  and  established  laws  for  all  suc- 
ceeding generations  ;  with  a  power  which  stayed  the 
laws  of  the  universe,  and  caused  the  blind  to  see,  the 
deaf  to  hear,  the  lame  to  walk,  and  the  dead  to  arise, 
and  could  call  legions  of  angels  to  assist   in   car- 
rying out  the  purpose  of  its  will — with  all  this,  he 
bore  himself  with  the  most  perfect  equanimity,  even 
under  the  influence  of  every  conceivable  species  of 
insult ;  and  beautifully  illustrated,  by  word,  deed,  and 
spirit,  the  religion  which  he  came  to  establish.    "  His 
love  and  compassion,  his  forbearance  and  forgive- 
ness, his  meekness  and  wisdom,  his  simplicity  and 
holiness,  his   equanimity  and   self-possession,  have 
never  had,  and  never  will  have,  a  parallel "  in  the 
history  of  our  race.     It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a 
human  being  quietly  to  submit  to  personal  insult 
and  disgrace,  to  have  outrage  heaped  upon  outrage, 
to  be  mocked,  scourged,  and  at  last  to  submit  to 
cruel  death.     Man,  in  the  best  state,  would  muster 
every  available  resource  to  defend  himself  against 
such  indignity  and  suffering.     But  we  are  to  remem- 
ber, with  thanksgiving,  that  Jesus,  conscious  of  his 
own  power  to  turn  the  overflowing  flood  of  infamy 
and  distressing  pain  upon  his  enemies,  quietly  sub- 
mits himself  to  all  the   outrages  which   depraved 
humanity  could  invent  and  a  satanic  nature  could 
execute,  and  even  while  nailed   to  the  cross,  with 
blood  trickling  from  his  hands  and  feet,  in  the  awful 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  525 

agonies  of  death,  with  bowed  head  and  sorrowing 
heart,  he  could  turn  his  dying  eyes  out  upon  that 
rabble  multitude,  who  with  sneering  ribaldry  had 
exultantly  cried  out  upon  the  innocent  Lamb  of  God, 
''Crucify  him,  crucify  him!"  and  could  utter  that 
ever-memorable  prayer,  the  like  of  which  the  world 
had  never  heard  and  never  will  hear  again,  "  Father, 
forgive  them ;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

This  was  the  final  link  in  the  chain  of  saving  grace, 
the  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  and  the  climax  of  the 
Father's  love  to  a  fallen  race.  Who  can  read  the 
story  of  *'  Jesus  and  his  love,"  the  obvious  manifesta- 
tions of  the  divinity  of  his  character,  and  his  willing- 
ness to  save,  and  not  be  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God!"?  And  who  so  lost  to 
his  personal  interests  for  time  and  eternity  as  not  to 
yield  loving  obedience  to  One  who  has  done  more  to 
save  mankind  from  sin  and  its  consequent  wretched- 
ness than  all  the  wise  men,  sages,  and  profound 
philosophers  who  have  ever  helped  to  elevate  our 
race?  He  that  can  look  upon  this  exhibition  of 
divinity  and  love  with  unmoved  heart  may  well 
exclaim : 

"The  rocks  can  rend;  the  earth  can  quake; 
The  seas  can  roar,  the  mountains  shake: 
Of  feeling  all  things  show  some  sign 
But  this  unfeeling  heart  of  mine. 

"  But  something  yet  can  do  the  deed, 
And  that  dear  something  much  I  need: 
Thy  Spirit  can  from  dross  refine, 
And  melt  and  change  this  heart  of  mine." 


526  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Though  the  whole  Hfe  of  Jesus  was  supremely 
radiant  with  beauty  in  its  devotedness  to  the  inter- 
ests of  humanity,  and  full  of  manifestations  of  the 
Supernal  in  ''going  about  doing  good,"  the  Father's 
sympathy  for  the  ignorance  and  suffering  of  a  lost 
race  found  its  highest  and  most  sublime  expression 
in  Jesus  upon  the  cross.  No  language  like  that  of 
willinsf  sacrifice.  Could  we  but  behold  this  bound- 
less  love  of  God,  as  made  manifest  in  the  gift,  life, 
suffering,  and  death  of  Jesus, — could  we  see  it  as 
angels  see  it,  and  as  the  wisest  and  best  of  our  race 
see  it,  we  would  exclaim,  in  the  language  of  the 
immortal  Isaac  Watts, 

"  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride. 

Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 
That  were  an  offering  far  too  small : 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 
Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

SECTION  (ill). 

Faults  of  his  professed  followers. 

We  are  not  to  determine  the  character  of  Jesus 
and  his  influence  upon  the  world  by  the  corruptions 
of  society,  professedly  Christian,  much  less  by  the 
wicked  lives  of  some  who  have  professed  disciple- 
ship.    Before  deciding  as  to  the  question  of  responsi- 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS,  $2/ 

bility,  we  should  carefully  seek  the  causes  which  led 
to  such  corruption  and  wickedness.  If  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  teachings,  life,  and  spirit  of  Jesus  are 
the  leaven  of  bad  society  and  the  cause  of  a  wicked 
life,  then  responsibility  attaches  to  him  ;  otherwise 
the  moving  cause  must  be  found  elsewhere.  On 
this  point  we  would  say — 

(I)  That  the  corruptions  and  persecutions  which 
have  existed  within  the  nominal  church  are  not  to 
be  admitted  as  testimony  against  the  religion  of 
Jesus.  The  spirit  which  seeks  to  reflect  unfavor- 
ably upon  Christ  and  his  religion  refers  to  the 
"dark  ages,"  when  Christianity  exhibited  little  less 
than  an  intolerable  bigotry,  persecution,  and  blood- 
shed. As  evidence  of  the  truth  of  this  unfavorable 
reflection,  reference  is  had  to  the  rack,  the  fagot, 
the  Inquisition,  and  to  cruel  war.  All  this  horrible 
bigotry,  barbarous  and  inhuman  suffering,  and  satanic 
butchery  have  been  perpetrated,  as  we  must  admit, 
under  the  sacred  name  of  Christianity!  This  ani- 
madversion comes  so  near  the  line  of  a  just  criticism 
that  it  has  awakened  many  a  doubt.  It  behooves 
us,  therefore,  to  examine  with  care  the  causes  which 
have  led  to  results  so  revolting  to  the  better  instincts 
of  our  nature.  These  horrible  outrages  have  been 
charged  to  the  account  of  Christianity  so  frequently 
and  with  such  emphasis  that  the  credulous  and 
thoughtless  have  been  made  to  believe  the  charge. 
But  we  aver  that  an  impartial  glance  at  facts  and 
circumstances  will  show  it  to  be  a   gross   libel  on 


528  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Christ  and  the  religion  he  sought  to  establish.  If 
we  carefully  study  what  Jesus  said  and  did,  we  shall 
not  fail  to  see  that  the  central  truth  which  he  sought 
to  establish  was  "  love  to  God  and  love  to  man." 
And  when  the  world's  heart  is  animated  by  his  spirit 
of  love,  then  shall  the  sword  be  forever  sheathed  and 
the  cry  of  oppression  be  heard  no  more.  Even  in- 
telligent and  honest  infidelity  will  admit  that  the 
spirit  of  persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  and  religious 
bigotry  of  any  sort,  are  an  excrescence  as  foreign 
to  Christianity  as  is  the  wickedness  of  the  human 
heart.  The  man  who  has  studied  the  life  of  Jesus 
and  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament,  and  has 
failed  to  observe  that  they  proclaim  the  glad  tidings 
of  "  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  toward  men,** 
needs  to  "  learn  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly." 
While  his  spotless  life  and  his  heavenly  teaching 
were  the  leaven  of  righteousness,  such  was  the  cor- 
ruption and  desperate  wickedness  of  the  human 
heart,  that  it  cropped  out  first  in  selfish  bigotry, 
then  in  proscription,  and  at  last  in  cruel  death, 
i  But  creeds  are  not  Christianity.  For  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  after  Christ,  the  church  had 
formulated  no  creed,  being  satisfied  with  the  Bible 
as  its  only  creed,  and  with  the  personal  right  of 
every  man  to  read  and  interpret  it  as  God  might 
help  him.  And  those  who  are  claiming  that  a  human 
creed  is  a  necessity  in  church  growth  need  to  be 
told,  what  every  ecclesiastical  historian  knows,  that 
the  church  of  Christ  never  prospered  as  it  did  when 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  529 

it  had  no  creed  but  the  Bible.  And  when  it  is 
claimed  that  Christian  union  can  only  be  maintained 
on  the  basis  of  a  formulated  statement  of  faith 
made  on  human  authority,  we  would  reply  that  these 
human  statements,  so  far  from  tending  to  union, 
have  been  the  direct  cause  of  dissevering  the  church 
and  paralyzing  its  power  for  good.  Even  *'  the 
Apostles'  Creed"  (which,  by  the  way,  the  apostles 
never  knew  of,  the  form  being  even  later  than 
the  Nicene  Creed,  and  deviating  much  less  from 
the  language  of  the  sacred  record)  was  neverthe- 
less an  entering  wedge  of  creeds.  A  creed  once 
made  required  another  creed  to  interpret  it,  and 
a  power  to  enforce  it;  and  so  on  until  bigotry 
and  persecution  had  reached  their  climax  in  the 
stake,  the  rack,  the  fagot,  and  the  varied  tortures 
of  the  Inquisition.  Thus,  while  the  history  of  blood 
was  being  written,  the  Bible,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  selfish  presumption  of  the  Roman 
ecclesiasticism  in  the  name  of  Christ,  but  against  his 
Spirit,  was  being  banished  from  the  face  of  tiie  earth. 
In  the  h'ght  of  this  historic  fact  we  aver  that  to  un- 
christianize  a  man  for  no  other  reason  than  that  of 
his  honest  opinion  touching  the  teaching  of  Christ 
and  his  apostles  is  not  only  a  disgrace  to  Christian- 
ity, but  is  an  outrage  upon  humanity.  The  in- 
born rights  of  human  reason,  as  well  as  the  bloody 
page  of  ecclesiastical  history,  would  relegate  the 
business  of  creed-making  and  that  of  creed-enforcing 
to  their  original  source, 
34 


530  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Science  has  clearly  revealed  the  marvelous  fact 
that  God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  and  resources  has 
not  seen  fit  to  make  any  two  things  exactly  alike ; 
much  less  has  he  organized  two  human  minds  to 
look  at  truth  from  precisely  the  same  standpoint 
and  thus  arrive  at  precisely  the  same  conclusion. 
Unity  and  diversity  mark  the  ways  of  God,  and  the 
Christian  philosopher  sees  the  necessity  of  both. 
But  for  unity  we  should  not  know  a  man  from  a 
gorilla,  and  but  for  diversity  we  should  not  distin- 
guish one  person  from  another.  But  for  unity  in 
the  Christian  faith  and  diversity  in  Christian  opinion 
one  man  could  not  help  another  to  the  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  Bible.  While  there  need  be  but 
"one  faith,"  there  may  be  opinions  ad  infinitum. 
While  the  Bible  presents  us  with  an  infinite  variety 
of  truth,  the  world  of  thought  comes  to  its  study 
with  an  infinite  variety  of  mind.  But  alas  for  both 
mind  and  truth  !  at  the  point  where  we  might  fill  the 
God-appointed  mission  of  helping  one  another  self- 
ishness interdicts,  and  establishes  metes  and  bounds 
to  investigation  by  declaring  **  thus  far  shalt  thou 
go,  and  no  farther."  Such  interdiction  is  without 
authority  either  in  reason  or  revelation.  The  Bible 
is  peculiar  in  this,  that  while  it  comes  down  with  its 
saving  truth  to  meet  the  capacity  of  the  weakest 
mind,  it  ascends  to  heights  of  thought  which  chal- 
lenge the  effort  and  admiration  of  the  most  giant 
intellect.  And  even  he  who  knows  most  of  the 
Bible  truth  only  finds  himself  placed  on  vantage- 


THE   CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  531 

ground  from  which  he  can  look  up  into  the  un- 
known heights.  What  presumption,  therefore,  for 
any  man  or  set  of  men  to  seek  to  establish  Hmits  to 
the  interpretation  of  a  revelation  which  extends  be- 
yond the  compass  of  our  thought !  Besides,  the 
human  creed  is  not  only  a  hinderance  in  the  search 
after  Bible  truth,  but  it  is  a  standing  menace  and 
outrage  to  the  individual  reason. 

The  right  of  one  man  in  the  business  of  creed- 
making  is  the  right  of  another.  Why  not?  Each 
has  been  endowed  with  reason,  both  have  the 
Bible,  and  neither  claims  inspiration.  If,  therefore, 
crimination  for  opinion's  sake  is  justifiable,  then  re- 
crimination is  equally  so.  If  the  Calvinists  have 
the  right  to  proclaim  the  doctrine  of  ''  foreordina- 
tion  and  decree"  as  the  ground  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship, then  Arminians  are  justifiable  in  declaring 
"free  grace"  and  ''free  will"  as  the  condition  of 
brotherhood.  One  set  of  men  may  claim  that  one 
of  these  doctrines  is  obviously  taught  in  the  Bible, 
and  the  other  not ;  another  may  claim  precisely  the 
contrary.  Who  shall  decide  ?  Wherein  is  the  au- 
thority of  one  set  better  than  that  of  the  other? 
Is  it  maintained  that  there  is  orthodoxy  and  hetero- 
doxy in  the  world,  and  that  we  are  commanded  to 
"contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints"  ?  We  reply  that  the  "  faith  dehvered  to 
the  saints"  was  not  that  of  human  opinion,  but 
rather  that  faith  in  Christ  which  works  by  love  and 
purifies  the  heart.     "  If  any  man  have  not  the  spirit 


532  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his,"  no  matter  for  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  opinions.  A  loving  heart  will  fully 
atone  for  the  mistakes  of  the  head.  As  previously- 
indicated,  the  true  ground  of  Christian  fellowship  is 
not  to  be  found  in  what  a  man  thinks,  says,  or  does, 
but  simply  in  what  he  is.  ''The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  not  meat  nor  drink;"  and  we  may  add,  nor  is  it 
any  mere  opinion,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  nothing 
less,  and  can  be  nothing  more,  than  ''righteousness," 
the  result  of  which  is  "peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Spirit."  "  Hast  thou  faith?  have  it  to  thyself  be- 
fore God."  The  Father  has  submitted  revelation  to 
reason,  and  has  ordained  that  every  man  shall  do 
his  own  thinking  and  thus  contribute  his  mite  to 
the  discovery  of  truth.  And  as  "to  think  is  to 
differ,"  any  set  of  men  who  interdict^'  the  individual 
soul  in  its  search  after  truth  by  a  creed  which  would 
unchristianize  it  for  his  honest  opinion  offers  an  in- 
sult to  God,  does  an  irreparable  wrong  to  the  indi- 
vidual, and  disgraces  the  religion  of  him  who  came 
to  break  the  shackles  of  mental  slavery,  and  to 
make  men  "  free  indeed." 

The  community,  therefore,  whether  Catholic  or 
Protestant,  high-church  or  low-church,  orthodox  or 
heterodox,  which  would  withhold  Christian  fellow- 
ship from  a  man  for  no  other  reason  than  that  of 
his  honest  opinion  touching  Bible  interpretation,  is 
under  the  influence  of  evil  as  surely  as  were  those 
who  had  Michael  Servetus  burned  at  the  stake.     It 

the  same  spirit,  differing  only  in  the  degree  of  its 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  533 

atrocity.  And  it  is  as  foreign  to  the  life,  spirit,  and 
teaching  of  the  blessed  Christ  as  is  the  blackness  of 
midnight  to  the  brightness  of  noonday.  All  the 
outrages,  be  they  great  or  small,  which  have, 
during  the  history  of  the  church,  been  perpetrated 
under  the  sacred  name  of  Christianity  should  be 
charged,  not  to  the  account  of  our  holy  religion,  but 
to  the  bad  angel  of  man's  nature.  Hell  is  not  more 
remote  from  heaven  than  is  the  spirit  of  religious 
persecution  from  the  teaching  of  Him  who  said, 
**  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  who 
despitefully  use  you,  and  persecute  you."  Had  this 
divine  command,  which  is  characteristic  of  all  that 
Jesus  said  and  did,  been  carefully  observed,  then  a 
cudgel  had  not  been  placed  in  the  hand  of  infidelity, 
the  bloody  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history  had  not 
been  written,  the  human  creed  had  not  been  made 
to  antagonize  the  open  Bible  and  to  hinder  the 
progress  of  the  apostolic  church  in  its  onward  and 
upward  mission  of  unifying  all  hearts  with  each 
each  other  and  with  Christ.  All  the  contentions, 
bickerings,  and  fighting  of  modern  times  over  dis- 
puted points  of  systematic  theology,  and  all  the 
more  bloody  persecutions  of  olden  times,  must  be 
accepted  as  nothing  but  gross  perversions  of  a  reli- 
gion of  universal  unity. 

That  the  true  leaven  of  Christianity  is  leavening 
the  lump  of  depraved  humanity  is  clearly  seen  in 
the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  sectism  has  ceased  build- 


534  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

ing  wails  to  divide  the  church  of  Christ.  And  even 
those  that  have  been  built  are  toppling  to  their  final 
fall.  Once  so  high  as  to  bar  "  fraternal  greetings" 
and  hush  the  cheer  of  "  good-will,"  but  now  so  di- 
lapidated that  we  walk  over  to  each  other's  prayer- 
meetings  and  heartily  unite  in  singing  the  same 
songs  of  Zion. 

While  the  Bible  is  being  published  and  scattered 
abroad  as  never  before,  human  creeds  are  rapidly 
being  superannuated  and  laid  upon  the  shelf.  Such 
is  the  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century,  under  the 
inspiration  of  Christian  civilization,  that  the  Protes- 
tant church  is  doomed  if  it  takes  from  the  shelf  the 
"confession  of  faith"  and,  after  whipping  off  the 
dust,  seeks  to  enforce  its  doctrines  upon  its  individual 
membership.  Only  let  the  spirit  of  brotherly  love 
and  Christian  unity  go  on,  in  the  soon-coming  future 
these  human  inventions  will  be  buried  beneath  the 
dust  beyond  the  hope  of  a  resurrection.  "  Christian 
union"  is  not  only  greatly  desired,  but  it  is  univer- 
sally predicted  by  those  who  believe  that  Christ  is 
to  have  **  the  heathen  for  an  inheritance  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession." 
Certainly  none  is  so  vain  as  to  hope  for  absolute 
**  Christian  union"  on  the  basis  of  anyone  of  the 
many  human  creeds  !  The  growing  spirit  of  intelli- 
gence and  inquiry  makes  it  more  and  more  impossi- 
ble for  men  to  see  alike  on  questions  of  disputed 
theology.  The  only  possible  hope  of  agreement  is 
to  *' agree  to  disagree" — to  agree  in  spirit  to  disagree 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS.  535 

in  opinion.  An  open  Bible,  with  the  recognized 
right  and  duty  of  each  to  read  and  understand,  will 
bring  about  a  union  of  "  love  which  works  no  ill  to 
its  neighbor." 

Having  sought  to  show  that  cruel  persecution 
which  has  been  perpetrated  upon  humanity  under 
the  sacred  name  of  Christianity  is  not  admissible 
as  testimony  against  the  character  and  teaching  of 
Jesus,  but  is  rather  to  be  charged  to  the  account 
of  human  depravity,  we  now  pass  to  say — 

(2)  Nor  is  the  wickedness  of  professed  disciples 
admissible  as  testimony  adverse  to  the  spotlessness 
of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus,  or  of  the  influence 
of  his  religion. 

Here  again  it  must  be  observed  that  at  the  bar 
of  reason  Christianity  must  be  tried  on  its  own  mer- 
its and  not  on  the  merits  of  those  who  have  donned 
its  profession.  Infidelity  having  referred  exultingly 
to  the  fact  that  inhuman  outrages  have  been  perpe- 
trated upon  humanity  in  the  name  of  Christ,  it  pro- 
ceeds to  say  that  some  of  the  worst  characters  in 
the  community  are  those  who  make  the  greatest 
pretensions  to  Christian  virtue.  This  is  indeed  a 
sorrowful  reflection  upon  human  nature,  but  not 
upon  Jesus  or  his  religion.  No  intelligent  man, 
however  skeptical,  can  study  the  simplicity,  frank- 
ness, honesty,  and  boundless  love  of  Him  who  went 
about  doing  good  without  discovering  an  irreconcil- 
able discrepancy  between  such  a  character  and  that 
of  the  vile  wretches  referred  to,  who  are  a  disgrace 


536  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

to  manhood  and  a  dishonor  to  God.  Even  in  the 
eyes  of  intelligent  and  honest  infidelity,  if  such  an 
anomaly  exists,  the  one  seems  to  have  come  from 
the  land  where  angels  dwell,  with  the  view  of  lifting 
earth  to  heaven,  while  the  other  has  migrated  from 
the  region  of  hypocrites  to  deface  all  that  is  beau- 
tiful in  nature  and  lovely  in  manhood.  A  life  of 
falsehood  and  dishonesty,  practiced  under  lofty  pre- 
tensions of  Christianity,  if  adjudged  at  the  bar  of 
worldly  wisdom,  will  unhesitatingly  be  pronounced 
nothing  but  vile  hypocrisy  under  the  cloak  of  reli- 
gion. Nor  will  any  one  fail  to  observe  that  Jesus 
in  his  ministry,  in  the  most  terrific  terms,  condemned 
the  hypocrite  as  being  the  vilest  of  the  vile. 

If  we  be  interrogated  as  to  the  reason  why  men 
practice  villainy  under  the  mask  of  Christianity,  we 
reply,  for  the  same  reason  that  when  a  scoundrel 
wishes  to  make  and  pass  counterfeit  money  he  se- 
lects the  bank  of  the  best  reputation  upon  which  to 
practice  his  rascality.  This,  so  far  from  being  a 
disparagement  upon  the  bank,  only  reflects  credit 
upon  its  character.  As  there  can  be  no  counterfeit 
without  a  genuine,  neither  can  there  be  a  hypocrite 
without  a  character  which  is  real  and  commendable. 
•  The  "  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing"  only  evidences  the 
good  character  of  the  sheep,  and  the  satanic  sagacity 
of  the  wolf  in  donning  its  garb.  The  murderous 
and  carnivorous  purpose  of  the  wolf  can  be  better 
served  by  his  putting  on  the  appearance  of  an  inno- 
cent and  harmless  sheep.     The  common  verdict  of 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  JESUS.  537 

mankind  is  that  Christianity,  when  viewed  in  the 
h"ght  of   its  own  teaching,  is  "  holy,  harmless,  and 
undefiled."     Hence  villainy  often  takes  the  advan- 
tage of  the  popular  sentiment,  and  covers  its  de- 
pravity under  the  cloak  of  Christianity  with  no  other 
purpose  than  that  of  practicing  imposition  upon  a 
credulous  community.     But  the  increasing  number 
of  wicked  pretenders  only  goes  to  show  that  the 
firm  confidence  in  the  absolute  purity  of  Christ  and 
his  religion  is  not   undermined  even   by  the  occa- 
sional baseness  of  its  hypocritical  friends.     *'  Is  the 
man  what  he  pretends  to  be?"  is  the  question  which 
is  everywhere  being  asked  ;  and  if  he  is  found  to 
possess  the  life  and  spirit  of  the  Master,  even  infi- 
delity has  no  further  criticism.     The  days  of  decep- 
tion are  not  numbered.     In  the  time  of  Christ  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees  were  little  less  than  a  progeny 
of  hypocrites  who  were  pronounced  "whited  sepul- 
chers."     But    now  as  then  the  covering  should  be 
taken  off  that  the  "dead  men's  bones"  may  appear. 
The  point,  however,  which  needs  to  be  made  in  the 
interest  of  a  true  judgment  is,  that  a  false,  dishon- 
est, and  hurtful  life  is  not  to  be  charged  to  the  ac- 
count of  Christianity.     This  skepticism  itself  must 
admit.     If  a  man  in  whom  sin  had  done  its  perfect 
work  in  bringing  him  to  poverty,  disgrace,  and  un- 
utterable wretchedness  were   to   claim  that  all  his 
shame  and  misery  were  the  results  of  his  fidelity  to 
Christ  and  his  religion,  there  is  not  an   infidel  in  the 
land  who   has   sense    enough  to   know  right   from 


538  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

wrong  who  would  not  unhesitatingly  pronounce  it  a 
gross  libel  on  Christianity.  And  yet  if  infidelity  be 
dispossessed  of  its  arguments  drawn  from  the  pages 
of  ecclesiastical  history  and  the  wicked  lives  of  some 
professed  disciples,  its  stock  in  trade  would  be  well- 
nigh  exhausted  and  bankruptcy  would  be  inevitable. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  those  who  urge 
the  objection  under  consideration  usually  offer  it  as 
an  apology  for  an  irreligious  life.  And  with  the 
view  of  magnifying  the  objection  they  select  the 
worst  Christian  and  the  best  worldling,  and  then 
institute  the  unfavorable  comparison.  They  neglect 
to  observe  that  the  worst  Christian,  perhaps,  is 
nothing  but  a  hypocrite,  or,  at  best,  that  he  was 
born  and  bred  under  unfavorable  circumstances ; 
while  that  best  worldling  is  what  he  is  largely 
through  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Even  if  it  be  conceded  that  the  moral  character  of 
infidelity  is  better  than  that  of  heathendom,  w^e 
must  conclude  that  it  should  be  credited  to  the 
account  of  Christian  civilization. 

This  leads  to  the  final  observation,  that  Christ 
and  his  religion  are  in  the  world  answering  the  pre- 
diction made  of  the  little  stone  which  was  cut  out 
of  the  mountain  without  hands,  smiting  the  image 
of  sin  upon  his  feet,  and  breaking  them  in  pieces, 
and  becoming  itself  a  great  mountain,  filling  the 
whole  world  (see  Dan.  ii  :  34,  35):  that  they  are  the 
moral  and  spiritual  leaven  which  is  destined,  under 
God,  to  permeate  all  nations,  unify  all  hearts,  and 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  539 

fill  the  world  with  the  angelic  shout  of  "Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace  and  good-will  to 
men."  Then  shall  be  ushered  in  that  long-predicted 
and  much-desired  time  when  the  tribes  of  earth 
"  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks :  nation  shall  not  lift  up 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war 
any  more." 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT. 

Natural  diversity  and  Christian  harmony  of  opinion.— (I)  Points 
of  agreement  :  No  doctrine  of  atonement  in  the  primitive  church; 
first  attempts  to  formulate  it  led  to  absurdities  ;  all  attempts 
havelefiit  difficult  and  doubtful  ;  sin  alienates  from  God  ;  divine 
help  necessary,  and  given  in  Christ's  life  and  death. — (II)  Points 
of  disagreement:  As  to  the  method  by  which  Christ's  atonement 
works  ;  as  to  its  object,  whether  to  deal  with  God,  or  with  man. 
— Former  contradicts  God's  known  attributes  of  love  and  immu- 
tability.— Latter  agrees  with  conceded  facts  of  man's  sinful  alien- 
ation, and  need  of  repentance  stimulated  by  enlightenment 
through  Christ's  precept  and  example,  and  renewed  love  won  by 
Christ's  suffering. 

Long  and  fierce  has  been  the  controversy  over 
the  doctrine  of  Christ's  atonement.  And  these  dis- 
cussions have  only  evolved  new  theories  which  call 
for  new  explanations.  This  is  the  natural  result 
of  intelligent  free-thought.  The  more  men  are  left 
to  think  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  makes  them 
free,   the   greater   will   be   the  variety  of   opinion. 


540  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

That  this  diversity  of  honest  human  thought  is  as 
God  proposed,  is  clearly  seen  in  the  fact  that  he 
makes  no  two  minds  to  look  at  truth  from  precisely 
the  same  standpoint,  and  hence  no  minds  ever 
come  to  the  same  conclusion,  however  frequently 
they  may  have  subscribed  to  the  same  articles  of 
faith.  It  is  marvelously  strange,  but  nevertheless 
true,  that  when  God  creates  one  soul,  he  at  once 
destroys  the  molds  in  which  that  soul  was  cast ; 
from  the  mighty  world  to  the  tiny  insect,  he  has  not 
been  under  the  necessity  of  making  any  two  things 
exactly  alike. 

Hence,  every  human  effort  at  bringing  about 
'*  unity  of  thought"  otherwise  than  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  loving  reason  is  to  antagonize  the 
providence  of  God.  "  Let  God  be  true,  but  every 
man  a  liar."  While  unity  in  the  Christian  faith 
and  the  bonds  of  Christian  love  is  a  possibility 
under  the  working  of  the  largest  personal  liberty 
and  the  greatest  development  of  scholarly  theology, 
yet  *'  unity  of  opinion,"  under  the  contingencies  of 
free  and  intelligent  investigation  of  God's  truth,  is 
an  absolute  impossibility.     "To  think  is  to  differ." 

Union  may  be  had  in  only  one  of  two  ways : 
first,  by  the  masses  consenting  to  stultify  their  own 
thoughts  and  allowing  one  man  or  set  of  men  to  do 
the  thinking  ;  or,  secondly,  by  cheerfully  permitting 
each  man  to  do  his  own  thinking.  While  the 
former  is  the  union  of  superstition,  of  which  the 
world  has  had  too  many  examples,  the  latter  is  the 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  541 

union  of  Christianity:  the  sublime  end  for  which 
Christ  prayed.  One  is  of  men,  the  other  of  God. 
The  only  lamentable  fact  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  systematic  Christian  theology  is,  that 
the  bad  anjjel  of  man's  nature  has  too  often  exhib- 
ited  his  horns.  If,  therefore,  we  can  contribute 
somewhat  to  the  spirit  of  fraternal  regard,  we  shall 
be  justified  in  entering  this  field  of  controversy. 

''In  the  multitude  of  counsel  there  is  safety,"  if 
only  the  spirit  of  theological  dogmatism  can  be 
relegated  to  the  region  of  darkness.  The  long  and 
fierce  controversy  which  has  been  had  over  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ's  atonement  convinces  us  of  the  im- 
portance in  which  it  has  been  held  by  scholarly  men. 
But  it  is  a  stubborn  fact  that  these  men,  with  all  their 
learning  and  piety,  have  been  led  to  think  in  differ- 
ent channels,  and,  hence,  to  arrive  at  very  different 
conclusions.  It  is  impossible,  of  course,  for  more 
than  one  of  these  different  views  to  be  absolutely 
correct ;  yet,  if  the  heart  be  right,  God  will  supple- 
ment the  deficiency  of  the  head.  That  man,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  who 
in  this  enlightened  age  of  free  thought  would  ostra- 
cize a  brother  for  his  honest  convictions  upon  this 
important  but  difficult  subject,  only  placards  a 
littleness  which  calls  for  Christian  commiseration. 
With  this  view  of  the  subject  it  will  be  no  part  of 
our  purpose  to  magnify  discrepancies  of  opinion, 
but  rather  we  shall  seek  to  emphasize  the  points  of 
agreement. 


542  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

SECTION  (l). 
Points  of  Agreement. 

(i)  All  are  agreed  that  the  primitive  church,  for 
more  than  three  hundred  years  after  Christ,  had  no 
controversy  over  the  doctrine  of  atonement.  The 
canonical  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  ac- 
cepted as  sufficiently  explicit  on  the  subject.  While 
Christians  were  fully  convinced  as  to  the  fact  that 
rebellious  man  could  be  reconciled  to  God  through 
the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  seemed  to  have 
no  thought  of  setting  up  human  theories  as  tests 
of  Christian  fellowship.  Such  terms  as  ''  vicarious 
atonement,"  "substitutional  righteousness,"  etc., 
were  not  even  thought  of,  much  less  were  they  re- 
garded as  essential  to  Christian  character.  In  those 
days  of  primitive  simplicity,  it  was  enough  to  con- 
fess faith  in  Christ  as  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
life.  With  God  it  is  enough  now,  and  will  be 
enough  forever.  *'  We  look  in  vain  throughout  the 
early  centuries  of  the  Christian  church  for  anything 
like  a  systematic  development  of  the  doctrine  of 
atonement."  This  is  a  fact  of  history  that  none  will 
dispute. 

(2)  All  are  agreed  that  the  first  efforts  at  theoriz- 
ing on  the  subject  of  the  atonement  only  resulted  in 
a  lingo  of  mythical  absurdities.  While  for  the  first 
three  hundred  years  of  the  church  all   seemed  to 


CHRIST  S   ATONEMENT.  543 

have  been  satisfied  with  the  Bible  statement  of 
faith,  the  fourth  century  was  rife  with  the  spirit  of 
theological  speculation.  Every  great  doctrine  of 
the  Bible  was  subjected  to  the  ordeal  of  metaphysi- 
cal theorizing.  This  was  the  age,  as  all  must  con- 
cede, that  gave  birth  to  the  controversies  which  have 
been  kept  up  ever  since  on  subjects  of  dogmatic 
theology.  While  those  first  speculators  seem  to  be 
agreed  as  to  the  fact  that  the  atonement  was  a  com- 
mercial transaction,  yet  they  differed  as  to  how  and 
as  to  whom  the  purchase-price  was  paid.  Some 
supposed  that  Christ  satisfied  the  demands  of  the 
law  by  keeping  it,  in  man's  stead,  both  in  letter  and 
spirit,  while  others  maintained  that  Jesus  purchased 
man's  redemption  with  the  price  of  his  own  blood. 
But  we  are  all  agreed  now  that  their  theories  were 
"mythical"  for  the  reason  that  the  orthodox  faith 
then  maintained  that  the  price  was  paid  to  Satan. 
''  During  the  first  four  centuries  there  appeared  no 
certainty  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  ransom-price 
was  paid  to  God  or  to  the  devil.  The  latter  suppo- 
sition is  more  prevalent"  (hence  the  more  orthodox), 
"and  is  shared  in  by  Origen  and  St.  Augustine. 
Gregory  of  Nyssa  explains  this  opinion  by  saying 
that  the  devil  consented  to  receive  Jesus  as  a  ransom, 
because  he  regarded  him  as  more  than  an  equivalent 
for  all  those  under  his  power  ;  but  that,  notwith- 
standing his  subtlety,  he  was  outwitted,  for,  owing 
to  the  humiliation  in  which  Christ  was  veiled,  he  did 
not  fully  recognize  him  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  con- 


544  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

sequently  was  himself  deceived.  But  having  con- 
sented to  receive  him  as  a  ransom  for  mankind,  he 
was  righteously  deprived  of  his  dominion  over  man, 
whilst  he  could  not  retain  Jesus  when  he  discovered 
him  to  be  the  holy  Son  of  God,  being  horrified  and 
tormented  by  his  holiness."  {Chainbers  s  Encyclo- 
pcedia,  under  *'  Atonement.") 

On  the  supposition  that  the  atonement  was  purely 
a  commercial  transaction,  we  should  not  be  sur- 
prised that  men  of  sense  should  have  been  led  to 
conclude  that  the  price  of  man's  redemption  was 
paid  to  the  devil!  Why  not?  By  common  consent 
mankind  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Satan.  He 
being  not  only  the  legitimate  consignee,  but  abso- 
lute owner,  having  jurisdiction  over  a  totally  de- 
praved race,  of  whom  else  could  the  purchase  be 
justly  made?  On  the  supposition  that  man,  in  his 
spiritual  nature,  was  nothing  but  unmix'^d  moral 
corruption,  the  only  wonder  is  that  those  early 
speculators  could  have  conceived  it  possible  for  an 
absolutely  holy  God  to  have  so  interested  himself  in 
the  recovery  of  such  depravity  as  to  make  the  pur- 
chase of  Satan  at  such  an  enormous  price  as  that  of 
the  cruel  death  of  his  Son  !  The  explanation,  how- 
ever, for  such  seeming  inconsistency  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity  formed 
no  part  of  their  theory,  the  church  as  yet  having 
never  heard  of  a  theory  so  out  of  keeping  with 
sound  reason. 

If  God  loved  man  as  man  and  never  loved  him 


CHRIST  S  ATONEMENT.  545 

less  than  he  does  now,  as  all  are  agreed,  such  a  sup- 
position must  inevitably  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  was  something  in  man  that  made  him  worthy 
of  such  infinite  compassion  and  love.  Certainly  it 
is  not  in  keeping  with  reason  to  suppose  that  a  being 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  absolute  holiness  could  love 
a  being  who  was  destitute  of  every  lovely  quality. 
But  be  this  as  it  may,  while  intelligent  Christian 
men  are  at  variance  on  the  doctrine  of  total  deprav- 
ity, most  critics  are  agreed  as  to  the  fact  that  those 
who  began  the  business  of  speculating  on  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century  were  led  into  mythical  absurdities. 

(3)  Nor  can  there  be  any  question  as  to  the  fact 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  as  set  forth  by 
different  scholastic  churchmen,  is  both  difficult  and 
of  doubtful  meaning.  With  all  the  conceded  acute- 
ness  and  even  subtilty  of  Athanasius,  his  labored 
efforts  on  the  atonement  were  too  vague  to  be  even 
understood  by  any  but  himself.  He  could  success- 
fully disprove  the  theory  that  the  ransom  was  paid 
to  the  devil,  but  could  give  no  intelligible  reason  as 
to  how  or  why  the  price  of  man's  purchased  redemp- 
tion was  paid  to  God.  And  all  the  efforts  that  were 
made  to  explain  the  theory  of  Athanasius,  for  near 
six  hundred  years,  only  helped  to  exhibit  a  meta- 
physical mystery.  As  human  ingenuity  had  only 
succeeded  in  making  darkness  more  visible  and  con- 
fusion more  confounded,  it  is  claimed  that  at  the 
end  of  these  near  six  hundred  years  light  shone  out 
35 


546  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

of  the  darkness,  in  the  person  of  the  Bishop  of  Can- 
terbury. But  in  the  Hght  of  history,  it  would  seem 
that  even  Bishop  Anselm,  with  all  his  profound  wis- 
dom, only  succeeded  in  laying  the  foundation  of 
endless  disputation. 

Furthermore,  what  is  now  regarded  as  funda- 
mental, namely,  that  Christ  endured  the  punishment 
due  to  man,  Anselm  nowhere  teaches,  though  he  is 
regarded  as  having  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present 
orthodox  faith.  If,  therefore,  there  still,  lingers  a 
disposition  to  ui^christianize  a  man  for  opinion's 
sake,  this  great  bishop  must  be  placed  in  the  cata- 
logue of  heretics.  Moreover,  we  must  remember 
that  men  were  disputing,  then  as  now,  as  to  whether 
Christ's  mediation  affected  God  or  man,  or  both. 
During  the  Reformation,  equally  wise  and  Christian 
men  were  in  dispute.  Luther,  after  great  labor, 
brought  out  his  doctrine  of  the  atonement  only  to 
be  set  aside  by  that  of  Calvin,  and  both  to  be  re- 
placed by  the  theory  of  Socinius.  Thus  we  are 
presented  with  a  trinity  of  great  men,  each  claiming 
to  be  orthodox,  and  each  counting  the  other  to  be 
a  heretic.  And  while  Lutheranism,  Calvinism,  and 
Socinianism  were  each  claiming  to  be  sound  in  the 
faith,  Catholicism  was  unhesitatingly  pronouncing 
all  three  to  be  heterodox.  Besides,  these  human 
statements  of  the  doctrine  of  atonement  were  so  ex- 
ceedingly metaphysical,  that  if  salvation  depended 
upon  believing  them,  then  verily  "  there  are  few 
that  be  saved."     In  view  of  these  historic  facts  it 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  547 

must  certainly  seem  that  all  sensible  Christian  men 
ought  to  "agree  in  spirit  to  disagree  in  opinion." 
"  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind." 

(4)  All  are  agreed  that  sin  alienates  from  God, 
and  as  long  as  men  are  shut  up  in  sins  they  must  be 
shut  out  from  God.  Man  was  made  in  the  image  of 
his  Creator  ;  but  in  the  exercise  of  his  free-will  he 
violated  the  laws  of  his  being,  and  thus  the  creature 
was  spiritually  separated  from  the  Creator.  Sin, 
therefore,  is  the  only  wall  of  separation  between  an 
absolutely  holy  God  and  rebellious  man.  Only  let 
sin  be  removed,  by  whatever  method,  and  all  are 
agreed  that  reconciliation  would  be  effected. 

(5)  Nor  do  we  differ  in  the  belief  that  the  atone- 
ment was  and  is  a  necessity.  Looking  back  over  the 
history  of  mankind,  we  discover  that  man  was  not 
only  lost  in  ignorance  and  consequent  sin,  but  that 
with  every  effort  he  made  he  only  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing darkness  more  palpable.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  mediation  on  the  part  of  the  loving  Father.  Nor 
are  we  at  Hberty  to  believe  that  any  part  of  God's 
pkn  of  mediation  could  be  dispensed  with.  The 
suffering  and  death  of  Christ,  therefore,  being  a  part 
of  God's  plan  of  recovering  a  lost  race,  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  necessity.  As  Christ's  teaching,  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  each  play  a  part  in  bringing 
man  to  repentance,  forgiveness,  and  recovery,  it 
would  seem  that  if  we  regard  any  one  part  as  being 
unessential,  by  the  same  reasoning  we  may  dispense 


548  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

with  another  and  another,  until  the  Christ  of  the 
New  Testament  is  swept  away.  As  the  plan  of 
man's  redemption  was  determined  upon  in  the  coun- 
cils of  Infinite  Wisdom,  we  must  conclude  that  all 
that  Jesus  said,  did,  suffered,  and  triumphed  over 
were  but  so  many  parts  of  that  God-appointed  plan. 
As  Jesus  taught  for  man's  instruction,  lived  for 
man's  example,  died  for  man's  transgressions,  and 
rose  for  man's  justification, — if  we  allow  any  of  these 
things  to  drop  out  of  the  divine  catalogue  as  non- 
essential, we  must  conclude  that  Infinite  Wisdom  has 
made  a  mistake  which  human  ignorance  has  discov- 
ered. All  are  agreed,  therefore,  that  Christ's  medi- 
ation, including  his  death,  was  a  necessity.  Having 
noticed  some  of  the  points  upon  which  Christians 
are  agreed,  it  must  be  obvious  to  every  intelligent 
and  charitable  mind  that  the  points  of  agreement 
are  vastly  greater  than  can  be  those  of  dispute.  We 
can,  therefore,  with  Christian  charity,  allow  our  rea- 
son to  have  the  sway  while  we  discuss  the  points  of 
disagreement. 

SECTION   (ll). 

Points  of  Disagreement. 

As  all  Christians  are  agreed  that  perishing  human- 
ity must  be  brought  to  repentance  and  forgiveness 
through  the  mediation  of  Christ,  the  ''  points  of  dis- 
acrreement,"  however  wide  and  irreconcilable,  are, 
nevertheless,  not  essentially  important  provided  we 
exercise  such  faith  in  Christ's  atonement  as  will  lead 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  549 

US  to  repentance  and  forgiveness.  Certainly  all 
must  agree  that  the  supreme  thought  in  the  mind  of 
the  great  Father  was,  and  is,  that  the  "  Prodigal " 
mi^ht  be  induced  to  return  to  his  Father's  house. 

(i)  Christians  differ  as  to  the  method  by  which 
this  great  work  is  wrought  in  the  human  heart.  As 
we  view  it,  this  depends  largely  upon  a  man's  make- 
up. One  dwells  upon  Christ's  teaching  as  the  world's 
greatest  necessity.  Man,  in  his  estimation,  had  not 
only  lost  the  moral  image  of  God,  but  he  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  sacred  relation  that  the  creature 
sustained  to  an  absolutely  holy  Creator,  and,  hence, 
no  knowledge  of  the  obligations  growing  out  of  such 
relation  to  turn  to  God  with  full  purpose  of  heart. 
Only  let  the  judgment  be  enlightened,  and  a  man  of 
generous  impulse  is  inclined  to  follow  in  the  path 
of  such  enlightenment.  Only  let  him  be  taught  the 
"fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man," 
and  such  faith,  accompanied  by  the  spirit  of  inspira- 
tion, moves  him  Godward  in  the  path  of  repentance 
and  forgiveness. 

Another  is  touched  and  moved  to  repentance  by 
contrasting  his  own  ignoble  and  unworthy  life  with 
that  of  the  pure  and  holy  life  of  the  blessed  Jesus. 
He  dwells  especially  upon  the  divine  pattern,  which 
so  sublimely  illustrates  the  possibilities  of  the  human 
soul.  Such  holy  contemplation  leads  him  to  abhor 
sin  because  it  wrongs  the  soul,  and  because,  if  con- 
tinued in,  it  will  lead  to  death.  He  therefore  turns 
from  it  as  from  deadly  poison. 


550  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

Another  stands  in  awe  and  is  moved  to  holy- 
thought  as  he  reflects  upon  the  matchless  power  of 
Him  at  whose  words  the  laws  of  the  universe  were 
suspended  and  the  glory  of  the  Highest  made  to 
appear.  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh"  is  the  absorb- 
ing thought  which  moves  him  to  repentance  and 
forgiveness. 

Because  of  the  peculiar  make-up  of  still  another, 
he  thinks  not  so  much  of  the  teaching,  life,  or 
miraculous  power  of  Christ  as  he  does  of  his  awful 
death.  And  though  he  could  read  unmoved  the 
manifestations  of  God's  power  in  the  punishment  of 
sin,  and  hear  without  trembling  the  thunders  of 
Mount  Sinai,  yet  "  Jesus  on  the  cross"  is  an  ex- 
pression of  the  Father's  love  and  desire  to  save  the 
lost  and  bring  back  the  rebellious,  which  is  more 
than  his  traitorous  heart  can  endure.  While  his 
eyes  are  turned  toward  the  cross,  he  is  moved  to 
tears  of  repentance  and  receives  forgiveness. 

Another,  the  natural  tendency  of  whose  mind 
leads  him  to  dwell  more  upon  the  future,  thinks  not 
so  much  of  what  Jesus  said,  did,  or  suffered,  as  he 
does  upon  the  risen,  ascended,  and  glorified  Re- 
deemer. The  supreme  thought  in  his  mind  is,  that 
sin  of  necessity  shuts  the  soul  out  from  such  abso- 
lute purity  and  superlative  glory;  and  under  the 
influence  of  such  reflection  he  is  led  to  a  *'  repent- 
ance which  needeth  not  to  be  repented  of." 

Another  mind,  of  more  logical  construction, 
sweeps  through  the  entire  field  of  Christ's  media- 


CHRIST'S    ATONEMENT.  551 

tion,  as  Teacher,  Pattern,  Lawgiver,  Saviour,  Re- 
deemer, *'  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords."  To 
him  every  step  in  the  divine  logic  is  an  indispensa- 
ble link  in  the  chain  of  saving  grace.  He  would  not 
magnify  one  to  the  disparagement  of  another.  All 
originated  with  God,  and  hence  all  are  necessary 
parts  of  a  sublime  whole. 

It  is  thus  that  Christ,  in  his  mediatorial  office, 
comes  to  meet  the  necessities  of  our  many-sided 
nature,  and  to  make  it  possible  for  us  to  help  each 
other  in  the  discovery  of  God's  saving  truth.  But 
too  often,  just  at  the  point  of  helpfulness,  the  spirit 
of  theological  dogmatism  interdicts,  and  assumes  to 
be  *'lord  over  God's  heritage."  "  Hast  thou  faith? 
have  it  to  thyself  before  God." 

(2)  We  disagree  as  to  the  object  of  Christ's  atone- 
ment. The  narrow  space  allotted  to  this  chapter 
will  not  permit  us  to  give  even  an  outline  of  the 
various  opinions  which  have  been  advocated  by  Cal- 
vinism on  the  one  hand,  and  Arminianism  on  the 
other.  Any  effort  to  catalogue  these  varieties  of 
thought  would  be  like  attempting  to  count  the 
shadows.  It  is  sufificient  to  say  that  Calvinism  of 
the  sixteenth  is  not  Calvinism  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  While  it  is  one  thing  on  this  side  of  the 
ocean,  it  is  quite  another  thing  on  the  other  side. 
What  is  considered  as  sound  orthodox  at  Andover 
would  fall  far  short  of  being  considered  so  at  Prince- 
ton. The  Calvinism  of  Woods  and  Edwards  would 
be  placed  under  the  ban  of  "heresy'  by  the  Cal- 
vinism of  Campbell  and  his  followers. 


552  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

If  we  turn  to  Arminianism  we  find  the  same 
diversity  of  opinion.  The  tlieoiy  advocated  by 
Arminius  was  only  a  reconstruction  of  the  doctrine 
taught  by  the  acute  Socinius.  Furthermore,  Ar- 
minianism and  Socianism  were  but  the  prototypes 
of  a  progeny  of  opinion  which  can  hardly  be  named. 
The  Arminian  "  Remonstrants"  and  Socinian 
"  Counter-remonstrants"  dealt  against  each  other 
criminations  and  recriminations.  But  none  of  those 
ancient  theories  would  answer  to  the  doctrine  of 
modern  Socinianism,  and  Arminianism  of  olden 
times  is  not  that  of  modern  times.  Arminius  and 
Socinius  would  protest  if  they  were  placed  in  the 
same  catalogue  with  Channing,  Ware,  Taylor,  and 
Livermore. 

The  history  of  religious  opinions  shows  that  the 
doctrine  of  Christ's  atonement  has  been  viewed  from 
almost  every  conceivable  standpoint,  and  hence 
there  has  been  an  evolution  of  opinions  almost  ad 
infinitum.  With  all  this  diversity,  however,  there  is 
a  distinction  which  is  so  marked  as  to  deserve  our 
special  attention. 

First,  zuas  the  death  of  Christ  designed  to  *'  deal  with 
God  on  behalf  of  man'?  As  the  popular  theory  gives 
an  affirmative  answer  to  this  question,  the  reader 
should,  as  far  as  possible,  rid  himself  of  preconceived 
opinions  and  give  to  it  a  careful  examination  and 
an  unbiased  criticism. 

It  is  claimed,  on  the  divine  side,  that  God  estab- 
lished a  law  for  the  government  of  man,  with  the 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  553 

penalty  of  death  attached  to  its  violation,  and 
that  justice  demanded  the  enforcement  of  that  pen- 
alty, after  man  had  transgressed.  Certainly  it  would 
seem  to  be  in  perfect  keeping  with  justice  that  man 
should  die  if,  by  acts  of  his  own  free-will,  he  has 
forfeited  his  claim  to  life.  It  is  further  claimed 
that  mercy  intervened,  and  that  it  was  decided  in 
the  councils  of  Infinite  Wisdom  that  justice  would 
be  satisfied  with  the  device  of  having  the  innocent 
suffer  in  the  "  room  and  stead"  of  the  guilty.  Is 
divine  justice  to  be  satisfied  by  satanic  injustice? 
Such  a  conclusion  seems  not  only  to  be  devoid  of 
all  reason,  but  to  contradict  every  known  attribute 
of  God.  If  Christ,  in  his  suffering  and  death,  was 
dealing  with  God  on  behalf  of  man,  by  paying  the 
debt  which  man  had  incurred,  then  it  would  seem 
that  Infinite  Wisdom  had  made  a  mistake  in  enact- 
ing a  law  the  penalty  of  which  he  was  not  willing  to 
enforce  upon  the  guilty ;  or  else,  what  is  worse,  that 
he  had  predetermined  that  the  penalty  should  be 
inflicted  upon  the  innocent  that  the  guilty  might 
justly  go  free — an  inevitable  alternative! 

Certainly  the  wisdom  of  God  precludes  the  possi- 
bility of  his  having  made  such  a  law,  while  his  love 
renders  it  utterly  impossible  for  him  to  have  re- 
sorted to  the  awful  expedient  of  causing  the  right- 
eous to  suffer  in  "  the  room  and  stead "  of  the 
wicked.  Is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  conceive  that 
Christ  is  God's  gift  to  man  prompted  by  his  love  and 
at  the  same  time  believe  that  the  object  of  Christ's 


554  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

death  was  to  reconcile  God  to  man  by  appeasing  his 
wrath  ?     This  is  a  flat  contradiction  of  terms :  two 
things  which  no  mind  ever  did  or  ever  can  beHeve 
at  the  same  time.     The  very  fact  that  "  Christ  was 
God's  gift  to  man"  illustrates  in  the  most  forcible 
manner  the  fact  that  he  was  already  *'  reconciled  "  to 
man.     To   suppose,    therefore,    that   the  object  of 
Christ's  death  was  to  deal  with  God  on  behalf  of 
man  with  the  view  of  purchasing  the  Father's  par- 
doning love  is  to  suppose  that   Jesus  suffered  the 
awful  death  of  the  cross  with  the  sublime  view  of 
purchasing  for  man  that  which  he  already  possessed. 
All  Christians  are  agreed  in  the  fact  that  God  is 
essentially  love  as  he  is  essentially  God.     This  pre- 
cious truth  being  conceded,  we  aver,  as  a  necessary 
sequel,  that  the  Father's  nature  is  such  that  a  change 
in  his  affections  is  an  impossibility  unless  there  be  a 
change  in  the  object  of  his  love.     Had  he  ever  been 
unreconciled  to  man,  then  reconciliation  would  have 
been  an  impossibility  in  the  very  nature  of  his  being 
unless  man  had  changed.     To  conclude  otherwise  is 
to  contradict  the  universally  conceded  doctrine  of 
"God's   immutability."       Hence    to    us    the    Bible 
clearly  and  everywhere  teaches  that  the  All-Father 
never  loved  man  as  man  any  less  than  he  loves  him 
now.     Never  was  there  a  time  when  he  did  not  call 
man  with  a  compassionate  love  to  forsake  his  sins. 
Never  was  there  a  time  when   he  was  not   full  of 
mercy  and  willing  to  pardon  the  penitent.     Nor  was 
there  anything  in  the  nature  of  God,  nor  yet  in  his 


CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT.  555 

laws,  which  hindered  him  in  the  free  exercise  of  his 
pardoning  mercy  if  opportunity  offered  on  the 
human  side.  To  conclude  otherwise  is  to  beHeve 
that  God  had  enacted  laws  which  hindered  the  out- 
going of  his  loving  heart,  or,  what  is  worse,  that  there 
was  no  love  to  outgo. 

We  emphasize  the  important  fact  that  since  the 
world  began  there  was  absolutely  nothing  to  hinder 
the  Father's  pardoning  love  but  the  wipeniteiit  heart 
of  man.     Hence,  we  conclude  that  the  divine  plan 
of  salvation  was  confronted  with  no  difficulty,  nor 
was  there  anything  contemplated  but  to  break  down 
and   bring  to   repentance   the    hard    and    obdurate 
heart  of  man.     This  done,  and  man  would  be  saved 
in  any  age  or  country  of  the  world.     Otherwise,  He 
who  *Mias  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  to  dwell 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth"  has  put  the  conditions 
of  salvation  beyond  the  reach  of  many.     The  fact 
to  be  kept  distinctly  before  the  mind  is,  that  God 
did    not    love    our   race   because    Christ    died,    but 
rather  Christ  died  because  of  God's  unbought  love 
for  lost  humanity.     It  was  not   to  change  the  un- 
changeable character  of  the  Father,  nor  yet  to  vin- 
dicate  his   wise    and    unalterable  laws,  that    Christ 
died.     We  cannot  believe  that  the  Infinite  One  was 
reduced  to  any  such  dilemma  or  contingency.     God, 
in  his  dealing  with  mankind  as  well  as  in  his  revela- 
tion, is  set  forth  as  a  being  who  rewards  righteous- 
ness  and   punishes  wickedness.     His    love    for  the 
right   is   only   equaled  by  his  hate   for  the  wrong. 


55^  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

With  this  view  of  the  character  of  God  which  has 
obtained  among  all  Christians,  can  we  conceive  that 
a  being  of  such  spotless  and  holy  nature  would 
cause  the  innocent  to  suffer  for  the  crimes  of  the 
guilty,  and  that,  too,  as  a  contingency  to  extricate 
himself  from  a  dilemma  in  which  he  had  been  in- 
volved by  the  enactment  of  his  own  laws?  Such  a 
supposition  seems  to  involve  the  conclusion  that 
Infinite  Wisdom  and  boundless  love  have  managed 
the  affairs  of  divine  government  in  such  a  way  as  to 
bring  about  an  injustice  such  as  would  forever  dis- 
grace the  vilest  king  that  ever  usurped  an  earthly 
throne. 

If  the  death  of  Christ  was  designed  to  "deal  with 
God  on  behalf  of  man,"  then  coherency  of  thinking 
will  lead  us  to  conclude  that  the  divine  plan  of  sal- 
vation was  for  God  to  deal  with  himself  that  he 
might  thus  produce  the  spirit  of  pardoning  love 
which  had  ever  been  and  ever  will  be  an  essential  of 
his  nature.  To  assume  that  ''  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling"  himself  to  the  world  is  not  only  to  re- 
verse the  order  of  revelation,  but  it  illustrates  the 
possibility  of  reasoning  in  a  circle. 

Secondly,  was  the  object  of  Christ's  mediation,  in- 
cluding his  death,  to  ''  deal  with  man  on  the  part  of 
God''?  If  we  would  answer  this  important  question 
in  the  light  of  reason  and  revelation  we  should  care- 
fully inquire — 

I. — If  the  relation  of  God  and  man  were  once 
that  of  father  and  child,  who  and  what  gave  rise  to 


CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT.  557 

the  alienation  ?  We  excite  no  controversy  in  saying 
that  man,  because  of  his  violation  of  God's  righteous 
law,  was  driven  out  from  the  spiritual  presence  of 
his  Father.  No  one  will  deny  the  proposition  that 
nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  but  man's  willful  sin 
ever  stood  or  ever  can  stand  between  the  human 
and  the  divine.  All  are  agreed  that  the  very  nature 
of  the  Infinite  One  is  such  that  while  man  is  shut 
up  in  sin  he  must  of  necessity  be  shut  out  from  God, 
and  hence  lost  and  ruined. 

2. — If  it  be  conceded  that  man  went  away  from 
God  by  going  into  sin,  how  shall  union  be  restored 
but  by  the  prodigal's  returning  to  his  Father's 
house?  To  avoid  the  responsibility  of  making  him- 
self a  party  to  sin,  the  Father  is  only  at  liberty  to 
contemplate  reconciliation  as  a  possibility  through 
the  instrumentality  of  a  method  which  will  induce 
man  to  quit  sin  and  return  to  God.  Certainly,  as 
man  had  changed  the  relation  of  *'  Father  and  child  " 
by  willingly  going  into  rebellion,  he  can  only  restore 
such  relation  by  willingly  laying  down  his  arms  and 
suing  for  pardon.  Conversion  is  a  necessity  only  on 
the  part  of  one  that  is  going  in  the  wrong  direction. 
God  has  not  changed  in  his  fatherly  love ;  only 
man  has  changed  in  his  filial  relation.  Preparatory 
to  reconciliation  three  things  must  be  done  ;  namely, 
man  must  be  brought  to  repentance,  seek  pardon, 
and  thus  put  himself  in  position  to  receive  God's 
pardoning  love.  This  done,  by  whatever  method, 
the  returning   prodigal  can    and  will,  with   a  most 


558  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

blessed  experience,  receive  the  incoming  spirit  of 
adoption.  To  bring  man  to  the  knowledge  of  sins 
pardoned  is  the  Father's  best  work  in  his  behalf. 

3. — By  what  method  can  man  be  induced  to  quit 
sin  and  return  to  God  ?  If  we  cannot  believe  that 
the  Father  forced  man  into  sin,  neither  can  we 
believe  that  he  will  compel  him  to  return.  If  freely 
man  had  gone  away  from  God,  then  freely  he  must 
return,  if  at  all.  If,  in  the  light  of  the  character  of 
God  as  made  known  in  revelation,  we  contemplate 
him  as  devising  a  plan  for  the  recovery  of  his  lost 
children,  it  would  seem  that  he  would  forecast  a 
method  perfectly  adapted  to  man's  many-sided 
nature.  Man's  native  intellectuality,  sociality,  mo- 
rality, and  religiosity  would  be  addressed  with  most 
loving  appeal.  His  intellect  must  be  enlightened, 
his  social  relations  must  be  explained  to  him,  his 
relations  and  obligations  to  mankind  must  be  em- 
phasized, and,  above  all,  his  kinship  to  the  Creator, 
and  his  consequent  first  duty  to  love  and  obey  that 
Creator,  must  be  unfolded  and  impressed  by  the 
most  invincible  argument  of  a  Father's  love. 
Everything  that  heavenly  wisdom  could  devise  and 
boundless  love  execute,  consistently  with  man's  free- 
will, must  be  done. 

"  Know  thou  that  every  soul  is  free 
To  choose  his  life  and  what  he'll  be; 
For  this  eternal  truth  has  given, 
That  God  will  force  no  man  to  heaven." 

If  man  was  not  divinely  forced  ^  but  humanly  free 


CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT.  559 

to  go  into  rebellion,  then  he  must  be  equally  free 
in  his  repentance  before  pardon  can  be  granted. 
Hence  the  Father,  because  of  his  nature  and  the 
free  moral  character  of  man,  could  not,  from  neces- 
sity, be  just  in  justifying  the  sinner  until,  by  some 
plan,  man  was  brought  to  repentance.  Even  an 
earthly  father  could  not  be  just  to  himself,  much 
less  to  his  son,  if  he  were  to  pardon  his  prodigality 
before  he  was  brought  to  deep  contrition  of  heart. 
Such  an  act  of  pardoning  would  be  an  injustice  to 
both  father  and  son.  Hence  if  God  had  proposed 
to  pardon  man  while  he  was  yet  in  a  state  of  impeni- 
tence, he  would  not  only  have  made  himself  a  party 
to  sin,  but  he  would  also  have  encouraged  the  sinner 
to  continue  his  rebellion.  Certainly  both  reason 
and  revelation  show  that  pardon  can  only  be  ex- 
tended on  the  ground  of  repentance.  Christ, 
therefore,  in  his  mediatorial  office,  was  appointed  to 
deal  with  man  on  the  part  of  God  if  by  any  means  he 
could  bring  him  to  repentance  and  consequent  for- 
giveness. 

And,  4.  — If  repentance  only  can  secure  the  Fath- 
er's pardoning  love,  in  what  way  does  Christ's  medi- 
ation lead  to  repentance  and  bring  pardon  and  the 
spirit  of  adoption  ?  In  this  connection  we  are  to 
consider  the  details  of  Christ's  mediation  in  their 
relation  to  the  varied  necessities  of  man's  nature. 
Could  it  be  shown  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  failed 
in  any  particular  to  meet  the  soul's  many-sided  ne- 
cessities, it  would,  by  so  far,  be  an  objection  to  its 


560  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

divinity  of  origin.  But  if  in  tracing  the  analogy  we 
discover  that  all  that  Christ  did,  said,  and  suffered 
was  in  perfect  adaptation  to  the  soul's  nature  and 
varied  necessities,  then  we  infer  that  He  who  made 
the  soul  must  be  the  Author  of  such  religion.  By 
studying  the  complicated  organism  of  the  eye  in  its 
relation  to  light,  we  unhesitatingly  conclude  that 
the  one  was  made  for  the  other.  So  likewise  if  we 
study  the  various  parts  of  Christ's  mediation  in  their 
relation  to  the  soul's  diversified  necessities,  we  must 
be  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  one  was  designed 
for  the  other.  We  shall  thus  observe  that  each  step 
in  God's  method  of  saving  lost  humanity  is  a  neces- 
sity, for  the  reason  that  it  is  an  exact  counterpart 
to  the  nature  of  the  soul. 

Man's  first  necessity  is  intellectual  enlightenment. 
If  Christ  was  appointed  to  deal  with  man  on  the 
part  of  God,  where  shall  he  begin  but  with  man's 
ignorance  ?  Looking  back  into  the  history  of  the 
world,  we  observe  that  with  all  its  wisdom  it  was 
nevertheless  utterly  ignorant  of  three  subjects,  each 
of  which  was  most  important  to  be  understood, 
namely,  God,  Duty,  and  Destiny.  With  our  present 
enlightenment  we  can  readily  see  that  if  mankind 
are  to  be  brought  back  to  God  and  to  willing  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws  of  their  being,  they  must  first  be  in- 
structed upon  these  sublime  themes.  This  first  ne- 
cessity of  man's  nature  is  fully  met  in  the  teaching 
of  Jesus.  During  his  three  years'  ministry  he  taught 
nothing  but  the  fatherly  character  of   God  and  the 


CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT.  561 

duty  and  destiny  of  man.  Certainly  there  is  and 
can  be  no  truth  in  the  wide  universe  of  truth  of  such 
importance  as  the  truth  of  man's  filial  relation  to 
the  All  Father  and  his  consequent  obligation  to  love 
and  obey  his  Creator.  Next  to  this  foundation- 
truth  is  that  of  man's  kinship  to  man,  and  his  obli- 
gation to  do  unto  all  men  as  he  would  they  should 
do  to  him.  As  an  additional  incitement,  provoking 
man  to  nobility  of  character,  he  must  be  taught  that 
he  is  not  only  an  heir  to  the  great  Father  and  a 
brother  to  universal  man,  but  that  his  destiny  is 
eternity.  If  Christ  is  to  deal  successfully  with  man 
on  the  part  of  God,  it  must  be  obvious  to  every 
thoughtful  mind  that  he  should  begin  where  he  did, 
by  enlightening  the  world  upon  these  three  sublime 
themes.  '*  Man's  necessity"  being  **  God's  opportu- 
nity," Christ  left  the  field  of  human  wisdom  and 
took  hold  of  these  profound  subjects,  with  which  the 
wisest  men  had  grappled  for  four  thousand  years 
only  to  show  the  utter  w^eakness  of  man's  best 
efforts.  Not  only  were  these  the  only  themes  that 
claimed  the  attention  of  the  Divine  Teacher,  but  he 
taught  them  so  clearly  and  fully  that  the  accumu- 
lated wisdom  of  the  ages  has  not  been  able  to  dis- 
cover to  the  world  one  solitary  thought  on  the 
three  heavenly  themes  of  God,  Duty,  and  Destiny 
that  was  not  embodied  in  the  words  of  Him  who 
spoke  as  man  never  spoke. 

Again,  if    man  is  to  be  brought  back  to  willing 
obedience,  he  must  have,  secondly,  the  objective  les- 

36 


562  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

son  of  example.  Purposing  to  do  all  that  can  be  done 
consistent  with  man's  free-will,  the  Father  appointed 
a  Mediator,  whose  oral  instruction  was  to  be  illus- 
trated by  his  heavenly  example.  If  Jesus  stands 
before  the  world  without  a  parallel  in  proclaiming 
the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man, 
so  likewise  does  his  spotless  life  of  burden-bearing 
and  going  about  doing  good  tower  infinitely  above 
that  of  all  the  philanthropists  of  the  ages  past,  and 
will  forever  stand  out  as  a  life  of  absolute  perfection 
— an  example  which,  though  given  near  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  is  yet  ten  thousand  years  in  advance 
of  our  times. 

And  then,  having  enlightened  the  head  both  by 
precept  and  example,  the  Father  would  appeal 
to  the  human  heart.  For,  after  all,  if  the  heart  be 
not  moved  to  love,  there  can  be  no  acceptable  ser- 
vice. While  intellectual  enlightenment  is  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  it  is  a  necessity  only  because  it  is 
God's  way  to  the  human  heart.  The  Father  seeks 
not  our  intelligence,  but  our  Jieart  of  love.  Having 
obtained  this,  all  else  will  follow.  Nor  can  man 
love  by  volition.  If  the  heart  goes  out  in  love,  its 
going  must  be  a  spontaneity.  As  a  man  cannot 
love  by  the  direct  effort  of  his  own  will,  so  neither 
can  he  be  forced  by  any  one  else.  We  love  only 
because  we  behold  that  which  is  lovely.  To  love  in 
any  other  way  than  spontaneously  is  an  impossi- 
bility. 

As  love  cannot  be  forced  either  by  the  individual 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT.  563 

or  by  another,  so  neither  can  it  be  suppressed,  if 
only  the  object  of  the  soul's  affections  are  kept  be- 
fore the  mind.  As  God  seeks  only  man's  heart 
of  love,  this  object  can  be  attained  only  by  im- 
pressing the  mind  with  that  which  is  supremely 
lovely.  It  was  not  enough,  therefore,  for  Jesus  to 
teach,  by  word  and  deed,  the  Father's  willingness  to 
save  the  lost,  but  in  the  nature  of  the  soul  it  be- 
comes a  necessity  that  he  should  impress,  in  the 
most  forcible  manner,  the  Father's  love  for  human- 
ity. Man,  being  first  taught  the  nature  and  will  of 
God,  and  then  beholding  an  exhibition  of  his  father- 
ly love,  would  be  moved  to  repentance.  This  done, 
and  forgiveness  is  assured,  the  assurance  of  which  is 
the  incoming  of  the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we 
recognize  God  as  Father. 

Nor  can  we  conceive  of  a  method  by  which  the 
Father  could  have  shown  greater  love  to  rebellious 
man  than  by  the  voluntary  suffering  and  death  of 
his  only-begotten  Son  on  the  cross.  While  the 
world  is  full  of  infidelity,  none  are  so  skeptical  as  to 
question  the  fact  of  a  mother's  love.  It  has  often 
shown  itself  to  be  sweeter  than  life  and  stronger 
than  death.  Yet  both  reason  and  revelation  join  to 
teach  the  precious  truth  that  God's  love  is  greater 
than  that  of  an  earthly  mother,  else  we  must  believe 
that  the  stream  can  rise  higher  than  its  fountain, 
that  the  creature  is  better  than  the  Creator.  **  Scarce- 
ly for  a  righteous  man  would  one  die  :  yet  for  a  good 
man  some  would  even  dare  to  die.     But  God  com- 


564  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

mended  his  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us"  (Rom.  v:  8). 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  New  Testament 
places  so  much  stress  on  the  blood  of  Christ  as  a 
necessity  in  bringing  man  to  repentance  and  for- 
giveness. What  moves  the  world's  great  heart  of 
sin  heavenward  and  Godward  like  the  simple  story 
of  the  cross?  And  the  world  needs  to  be  told  that 
it  was  for  our  sake,  and  not  God's  sake,  that  Christ 
suffered  the  dreadful  agonies  of  Calvary.  The 
Father's  side  of  the  controversy  had  long  since  been 
settled,  else  his  only-begotten  Son  had  never  been 
sent  into  our  sin-cursed  world.  The  difficulty  of 
reconciliation  was  wholly  on  the  human  side.  When 
Jesus  was  teaching  for  man's  instruction,  living  for 
man's  example,  dying  for  man's  sins,  and  rising  for 
man's  justification,  in  each  of  those  divine  offices  he 
was  dealing  with  man  on  behalf  of  God  ;  that  is, 
**  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  him- 
self "  (2  Cor.  v :  19). 

Three  reasons  may  be  offered  why  Christ's  death 
was  a  necessity  on  the  human  side :  First,  we  can- 
not understand  how  God  could  be  just  in  justifying 
the  sinner  until  the  prodigal  was  brought  to  repent- 
ance, without  making  himself  a  party  to  the  sin  ; 
secondly,  man  would  not  be  brought  to  repentance 
until  his  emotional  nature  was  aroused  ;  thirdly,  hav- 
ing been  taught  the  will  of  God  and  knowing  our  own 
rebellion,  nothing  in  the  wide  universe  would  be  so 
likely  to  stir  up  our  emotional  nature  and  bring  us 


CHRIST'S   ATONEMENT.  565 

to  repentance  as  that  unparalleled  love  which  was 
exhibited  in  the  willing  suffering  and  shameful  and 
cruel  death  of  Him  who  was  rich  with  the  Father, 
and  who  for  our  sake  (not  God's  sake)  became  poor 
that  we  might  be  rich.  The  very  suffering  that  man 
had  richly  merited  Christ  willingly  took  upon  him- 
self that  we  might  be  brought  to  repentance  and 
forgiveness.  Thus  it  was  that  "  He  hath  borne  our 
griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows."  Thus  it  was  that 
**  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  and  with  his 
stripes  we  are  healed."  With  the  fatherly  view  of 
moving  the  world's  obdurate  heart  to  repentance 
and  saving  a  lost  race,  God  has  willingly  allowed  to 
be  ''laid  upon  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  And  as 
the  Son  was  like  unto  the  Father  in  his  love,  so  he 
went  willingly  and  lovingly  on  his  sublime  mission 
of  teaching,  living,  and  dying  \.\\2X  mankind  might  be 
brought  to  penitence  and  receive  pardon  and  ever- 
lasting salvation.  It  will  be  to  God's  honor,  as  it 
will  be  to  our  joy  and  eternal  blessedness,  if  we  dis- 
tinctly observe  that  all  that  Christ  ever  said,  did,  or 
suffered  w^'di.?^  for  the  single  and  sublime  purpose  of 
bringing  sinners  to  repentance,  that  God  might  be 
'*  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth  in 
Jesus"  (Rom.  iii :  26). 


566  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION. 

Antecedent  probabilities  of  God's  completing  a  glorious  design. — 
The  Resurrection  the  foundation  of  Christianity. — I.  Facts  ad- 
mitted :  Christ's  death,  burial,  and  removal  from  the  tomb. 
II.  Points  in  question  :  Was  the  body  removed  by  human  instru- 
mentality ?  Christ's  enemies  would  not,  his  friends  could  not, 
have  done  it ;  Was  the  body  removed  by  Divine  power  ? — Circum- 
stantial evidence:  His  own  predictions,  and  subsequent  history  of 
Christianity. — Positive  evidence:  The  testimony  of  his  disciples, 
who  were  honest,  were  familiar  with  his  face  and  person,  met 
him  later  in  Galilee,  saw  him  ascend  into  heaven,  and  sacrificed 
their  lives  to  testify  to  these  things. — Christ's  own  declaration. 

Suppose  that  there  is  a  God  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  power,  who  controls  the  universe  for  his  own 
glory,  and  for  the  good  of  his  intelligent  creatures ; 
suppose  that  Jesus  manifested  superhuman  wisdom 
in  that  he  proclaimed  the  highest  truth  in  regard 
to  God,  human  duty,  and  human  destiny,  subjects 
which  had  baffled  the  world's  wisdom  for  four 
thousand  years ;  suppose  that  Christ  manifested 
miraculous  power,  in  that  he  suspended  the  opera- 
tion of  natural  law  by  introducing  new  methods  and 
combinations,  by  which  he  did  those  things  which 
belong  only  to  God  ;  suppose  that,  although  Jesus 
lived  in  the  darkest  age  of  the  world's  history,  when 
moral  darkness  everywhere  prevailed,  and  the  pub- 
lic heart  was  corrupt  with  idolatry,  superstition,  and 
hypocrisy,  yet  his  goodly  life  was  the  only  perfect 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  567 

example  the  world  ever  saw  ;  suppose  that  this  pure 
and  spotless  One  had  predicted  that  he  would  not 
only  be  put  to  death,  but  that  on  the  third  day  he 
would  rise  from  the  dead;  suppose  that,  having 
given  a  law  which  would  meet  the  necessities  of 
man's  nature  for  all  ages  to  come,  and  which  only 
needed  to  be  ratified  by  the  fulfillment  of  his  predic- 
tions, he  was  taken  and  by  wicked  hands  was  cruelly 
put  to  death  ; — can  we  then  further  suppose  that  the 
grave  would  be  able  to  hold  this  priceless  treasure 
of  the  world,  and  thus  nullify  all  that  had  been 
divinely  said  and  done? 

Will  it  not  be  a  natural  and  inevitable  conclusion 
that  the  Omnipotent  and  Omniscient  will  gloriously 
and  harmoniously  finish  the  work  which  he  had  so 
grandly  begun  ?  Can  we  conceive,  as  the  remotest 
possibility,  that  a  being  of  absolute  moral  perfection 
and  of  infinite  energy  would  start  an  enterprise  so 
full  of  promise  and  seemingly  divine,  only  that  it 
might  come  to  the  inglorious  end  of  being  buried  in 
a  hopeless  grave  by  the  hand  of  wickedness? 

The  foregoing  suppositions,  if  admissible,  are 
strong  reasons,  a  priori,  for  believing  that  Christ 
would  be  raised  from  the  dead.  But  we  are  not  left 
with  mere  antecedent  probabilities,  however  convinc- 
ing they  may  be.  The  truth  to  be  established  is  too 
important  to  rest  upon  the  reasons  of  presumption, 
but  upon  the  solid  foundation  of  positive  testimony, 
as  the  sequel  will  show. 

Moreover,  the  fact  that  God  raised  Christ  from 


568  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

the  dead  is  not  only  fundamental  in  our  religion, 
but  it  must  be  regarded  as  the  foundation  upon 
which  rests  the  temple  of  our  faith  and  hope.  If 
this  one  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  be  success- 
fully disproved,  then  must  the  grand  structure  of 
►  Christian  civilization  topple  to  its  final  fall.  But  all 
the  accumulated  wisdom  and  honest  criticism  of  the 
ages,  together  with  all  the  combined  infidelity  of 
the  centuries,  have  only  helped  to  illustrate  the 
truth  of  that  divine  proposition,  "  The  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

The  enemies  of  Christianity,  regarding  the  resur- 
rection as  the  Gibraltar  of  our  faith,  are  hurling 
their  missiles  at  this  strong  defense.  And  we  must 
admit  that,  if  it  were  possible  for  this  foundation- 
fact  to  go  down  before  the  sweeping  tide  of  infidelity, 
all  else  that  is  Christly  would  go  down  with  it. 

It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  examine  with  the 
utmost  care  the  ground  of  this  hope.  Besides,  as  it 
involves  the  question  of  immortality,  there  is  and 
can  be  no  fact  relating  to  time  that  can  vie  with  it 
in  importance.  If  we  can  be  made  to  believe  with- 
out doubt  that  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead,  then 
we  cannot  distrust  the  precious  promise  that  those 
who  *'  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 
Let  us  consider — 

(i)  Facts  upon  zvhich  all  are  agreed.  Fortunately, 
in  this  discussion,  there  are  important  considerations 
which  mav  be  assumed  without  argrument  on  the 
ground  of  common  consent. 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  569 

(a)  Both  friends  and  enemies  are  agreed  that 
Jesus  was  crucified,  was  dead.  While  we  live  in  an 
age  pre-eminently  deistical,  an  age  in  which  infidelity 
is  even  skeptical  of  its  own  skepticism,  but  few  have 
had  the  temerity  to  call  in  question  the  historic  fact 
that  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testament  was  put  to 
death  under  the  reign  of  Pontius  Pilate.  Those 
who  have  denied  it  are  too  few  in  number,  and  their 
arguments  too  weak,  to  claim  attention. 

(<^)  Nor  has  any  one  called  in  question  the  fact 
that  Jesus  was  buried  in  the  manner  set  forth  by  the 
sacred  writers.  Conceding  the  truth  of  his  death, 
it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  he  would  be  buried 
after  the  fashion  of  his  times.  And  considering  the 
further  fact  that  he  had  previously  predicted  his 
resurrection,  there  is  nothing  marvelous  in  \\\^  pre- 
caution of  rolling  a  great  stone  to  the  door  of  the 
sepulcher,  placing  the  Roman  seal  upon  it,  and 
setting  a  detail  of  armed  soldiers  to  guard  against 
imposition.  While  all  this  precaution  may  be  re- 
garded as  providential,  yet  there  is  nothing  unnat- 
ural, and  hence  no  one  has  called  in  question  the 
historic  facts  of  Christ's  burial. 

{c)  Both  Jew  and  gentile,  infidel  and  Christian, 
heterodox  and  orthodox,  are  agreed  in  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  body  of  Jesus  left  the  tomb.  These 
points  of  agreement  are  important  for  the  reason  that, 
preparatory  to  arriving  at  the  truth,  we  have  nothing 
to  do  but  to  ascertain  \.\\^ poiver  by  which  Jesus  was 
taken  from  the  sepulcher.    W^e  may  observe,  further- 


570  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

more,  that  the  history  upon  which  both  Christianity 
and  infidelity  rely  gives  us  but  two  accounts  as  to 
the  method  by  which  Christ  was  taken  from  the 
tomb :  one,  that  he  was  raised  from  death  by  Divine 
power ;  the  other,  that  his  friends  took  him  away. 
We  are  thus  left  with  the  still  easier  task  of  deter- 
mining which  of  the  two  stories  is  most  in  keeping 
with  sound  reason.  If  each  of  the  two  accounts  is 
seen  to  involve  a  miracle,  then  human  judgment 
must  determine  which  is  the  more  marvelous  and 
hence  least  to  be  credited. 

(2)  Propositions  in  which  we  are  not  agreed.  The 
Christian  and  infidel  worlds  are  not  agreed  as  to  the 
power  by  which  Jesus  was  taken  from  the  sepulcher. 
While  the  one  maintains  that  the  dead  body  of 
Christ  was  resuscitated  and  brought  from  the  tomb 
by  the  power  of  the  Highest,  the  other  claims  that 
it  was  taken  from  the  sepulcher  by  the  hands  of  his 
friends.  Before  examining  the  testimony  bearing 
upon  these  views,  we  wish  to  premise  the  following 
suppositions  :  [a)  If  God  has  divined  a  plan  of  sav- 
ing our  race  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
ip)  If  it  was  planned  that  he  should  begin  his  medi- 
ation by  assuming  the  office  of  public  instructor, 
and  clearly  proclaiming  such  truth  as  had  baffled 
the  world's  wisdom,  and  thus  should  indicate  his 
divine  knowledge ;  (c)  If  the  heavenly  programme 
purposed  that  the  Mediator  should  not  only  do 
marvelous  things,  but  such  as  would  be  matters  of 
positive   knowledge    through  human  senses,  about 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  57 * 

which  there  was  no  possibility  of  the  witness  being 
honestly  mistaken  ;  {d)  If  it  was  divinely  purposed 
that  Christ  should  live  such  a  life  of  spotless  purity 
as  would  not  only  forever  bar  intelligent  and  honest 
criticism,  but  would  stand  out  for  all  ages  to  come 
as  being  but    another   illustration   of    his   divinity; 
{e)  If  it  was  designed  of  God  that  Jesus  should  seal 
his  mediation  as  teacher,  wonder-worker,  lawgiver, 
and  exemplar  with  his  own  blood,  and  thus,  while 
upon    the    shameful    cross,    give    an    exhibition    of 
heavenly  love    which   was    superhuman    and   about 
which  there  could  be   no  honest  cavil ;  (/)   If  the 
plan  of  salvation  contemplated  Christ's  resurrection 
from  the  dead,— we  must  then  further  {g)  conclude 
from  these  suggestions  that  the  same  divine  pains- 
taking  which    has    characterized    every    preceding 
step  in  the  programme  will  be  observed  in  the  rela- 
tion to  each  and  all  of  the  facts  connected  with  the 
burial  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  that  for  all  time 
intelligence  and  honesty  shall  not  be  in  doubt  touch- 
insf  a  fact  of  such  infinite  importance. 

From  such  suppositions  we  infer  that  every  step 
of  precaution  against  the  possibility  of  imposition 
would  be  divinely  supervised.  God,  as  we  know, 
works  by  human  instrumentalities,  and  often  brings 
wicked  men,  unwittingly  on  their  part,  into  his 
service.  The  wicked  Jews  requesting  Pilate  to 
secure  the  sepulcher  against  the  possibility  of  theft, 
and  the  disgraced  governor  who  replied,  *' Ye  have 
a  watch:  go  your  way,  make  it   sure  as  you  can," 


572  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

were  unknowingly  acting  under  the  directions  of 
a  wise  and  beneficent  Providence.  Had  this  pre- 
caution not  been  taken,  there  would  have  been  at 
least  a  show  of  truth  in  the  saying  among  the  Jews, 
that  **  his  disciples  came  by  night  and  stole  him 
away."  Not  by  the  satanic  sagacity  of  the  Jews, 
but  in  the  predetermined  counsel  of  God,  it  was 
planned  that  every  necessary  precaution  should  be 
taken  in  the  burial  of  Jesus,  so  that  the  wickedness 
of  men  should  not  prevail,  nor  should  intelligence 
have  an  excuse  at  the  bar  of  justice  for  infidelity. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  dead  body  of 
Jesus  was  taken  from  the  cross  and  placed  in 
Joseph's  new  tomb,  which  had  been  hewn  out  in  a 
rock ;  that  the  Roman  seal  was  placed  upon  it,  under 
the  law  which  imposed  death  upon  the  man  who 
would  dare  to  tamper  with  it ;  that  the  sixty  chosen 
soldiers,  backed  up  by  the  vast  army  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  were  placed  about  that  tomb  to  watch, 
under  the  law  which  attached  the  penalty  of  death 
to  the  soldier  who  was  found  sleeping  at  his  post ; — 
we  conclude  that  while  all  this  precaution  was  the 
cunning  device  of  wicked  men,  they  were  unwit- 
tingly carrying  out  the  programme  which  heaven 
had  designed. 

Bearing  in  mind  these  several  introductory  sup- 
positions, we  are  now  prepared  to  examine  the  testi- 
mony as  to  whether  the  power  by  which  Jesus  left 
the  tomb  was  human  or  divine. 

First,  was  Christ's  body   taken   from  the   sepul- 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  573 

cher  by  human  instrurrentality  ?  The  sacred  histo- 
rian gives  us  both  sides  of  the  story  touching  the 
power  by  which  Jesus  left  the  tomb.  He  offers  first 
what  he  regards  as  truth,  namely,  that  "  there  was 
a  great  earthquake ;  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  de- 
scended from  heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  back  the 
stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon  it.  His  counte- 
nance was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment  was  white 
as  snow  :  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake, 
and  became  as  dead  men.  And  the  angel  answered 
and  said  to  the  women,  Fear  not  ye  :  for  I  know  that 
ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here : 
for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said."     (Matt,  xxviii :  2-6.) 

Having-  stated  the  facts  as  he  had  them  from  the 
most  invincible  testimony,  the  sacred  author  next 
gives  us  the  other  side  of  the  story,  as  follows  : 
**  Behold,  some  of  the  watch  came  into  the  city,  and 
showed  unto  the  priests  all  the  things  that  were 
done.  And  when  they  [the  priests]  were  assembled 
with  the  elders,  and  had  taken  counsel,  they  gave 
large  money  unto  the  soldiers,  saying.  Say  ye.  His 
disciples  came  by  night  and  stole  him  away  while  we 
slept.  And  if  this  comes  to  the  governor's  ears,  we 
will  persuade  him,  and  secure  you.  So  they  took 
the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  taught  :  and  this 
saying  is  commonly  reported  among  the  Jews  until 
this  day."     (Matt,  xxviii  :   II-15.) 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  plan  was  adopted  in 
the  council  of  the  priests  and  elders.  x\fter  all  the 
outrages  which  these  same  priests  and   elders  had 


574  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

been  instrumental  in  having  heaped  upon  Jesus,  we 
can  readily  see  that  they  felt  called  upon  to  make 
to  the  public  some  explanation  in  vindication  of 
their  satanic  wickedness.  When  men  holding  pub- 
lic trust  do  a  monstrous  wrong,  they  at  once  seek  to 
cover  it  up  by  an  explanation  backed  up  by  false- 
hood. And  if  we  take  into  account  the  excited  con- 
dition of  the  public  mind,  the  distinctness  of  the 
line  which  separated  friends  and  enemies,  we  can 
hardly  conceive  a  plan  more  feasible.  The  weakest 
point  in  the  programme  is  where  witnesses  are  intro- 
duced to  testify  to  facts  which  transpired  while  they 
slept.  But  in  the  main  it  is  the  best  that  could  be 
done.  Certainly  it  will  not  do  to  say  that  his 
enemies  snatched  the  body,  and  thus  assist  in  mak- 
ing- ''  the  last  error  worse  than  the  first."  As  the 
report  had  gone  abroad  that  Jesus  had  said,  ''After 
three  days  I  will  rise  again,"  the  public  will  not  en- 
tertain the  thought  that  any  hut  friends  would  have 
the  temerity  to  molest  the  sepulcher.  While  the 
priests  and  elders,  to  cover  their  own  wickedness, 
had  in  council  decided  upon  the  best  story  to  be 
told,  even  this  report  would  have  made  no  progress 
among  the  Jews  if  the  common  people  had  been 
fully  apprised  of  all  the  providential  safeguards  that 
were  placed  about  the  tomb  of  Jesus.  They  would 
have  seen  at  once,  as  every  intelligent  and  honest 
mind  must  now  see,  that  the  report  was  founded  on 
both  moral  and  physical  impossibilities. 

It  may  be  observed,  first,  that  it  was  morally  im- 


CHRIST'S    RESURRECTION.  575 

possible  for  those  few  disciples  to  have  even  pro- 
posed to  steal  the  body  of  Jesus,  for  the  reason  that 
the  promised  reward  of  such  action  would  in  no  wise 
be  commensurate  with  the  moral  heroism  required, 
(i)  Suppose  that  the  friends  of  Jesus  were  twelve  in 
number,  one  of  whom  had  turned  traitor,  leaving 
only  eleven ;  (2)  Suppose  that  these  eleven  friends 
were  illiterate  men  belonging  to  a  distant  and  de- 
spised country;  (3)  Suppose  that  this  little  com- 
pany of  admiring  friends  had  followed  their  leader 
up  to  the  great  metropolis  for  the  single  purpose  of 
attending  the  Jewish  feast  which  was  held  in  univer- 
sal esteem ;  (4)  Suppose  that  while  there,  in  this 
world-renowned  city,  celebrating  a  religion  which  had 
permeated  the  whole  life  of  the  nation,  they  had 
seen  the  wise  officials  of  this  religion  arrest  their 
leader  for  heresy,  and  had  heard  the  sentence  pro- 
nounced under  the  sanction  of  popular  sentiments; 

(5)  Suppose  that  amid  the  vast  assembly  they  had 
stood  a  great  way  off  to  witness  the  awful  scenes  of 
Calvary,  and  heard  their  Master,  with  his  expiring 
breath,  utter  his  last  words,  *'  It  is  finished,"  the 
spiritual   meaning  of  which  they  little  understood  ; 

(6)  Suppose  that  with  sorrowing  and  discouraged 
heart  they  saw  their  leader  taken  down  from  the 
cross,  placed  in  a  niche  of  solid  rock,  at  the  door  of 
which  was  rolled  a  great  stone,  a  Roman  seal  placed 
upon  it  which  it  was  death  to  touch,  and  a  guard  of 
sixty  armed  soldiers  placed  around,  charged  with  the 
duty  of  protecting  the  sepulcher ;  (7)  Suppose  that 


576  REASON   AND   REVELATION. 

the  only  conceivable  motive  for  theft  on  the  part  of 
these  eleven  friends  was  to  obtain  the  dead  body  of 
their  Master,  which  had  already  been  placed  in  a 
most  beautiful  tomb  by  the  loving  hands  of  his  rich 
friends;  (8)  Suppose  all  this,  which  is  in  keeping 
with  the  historic  facts:  can  we  then  further  suppose 
that  **  his  disciples  came  by  night  and  stole  him 
away,"  with  worse  than  nothing  to  reward  them  for 
such  a  hazardous  undertaking  and  such  unparalleled 
heroism  ?  //  is  hummtly  impossible.  Nothing  short  of 
a  miracle  could  ever  have  induced  such  action. 

We  observe,  secondly,  that  even  if  it  were  possi- 
ble for  us  to  conceive  of  such  unheard-of  moral 
heroism  with  no  promised  reward,  it  was  physically 
impossible  for  them  to  have  succeeded.  From  the 
narrative  the  only  pretense  was  that  *Miis  disciples 
came  by  night  and  stole  him  away  while  we  [the 
soldiers]  slept."  To  entertain  such  a  supposition 
we  must  conclude  that  not  only  one,  nor  even  a 
dozen,  but  the  entire  guard  of  sixty  soldiers  had  all 
not  only  slept  on  soundly,  but  were  all  sleeping  at 
the  same  moment.  We  must  also  conclude  that  each 
and  all  of  these  soldiers  did  this  in  violation  of  a  law 
the  penalty  of  which  was  death.  Reflection  forces 
us  still  further  to  conclude  not  only  that  these  select 
men  of  the  guard  were  all  sleeping  at  the  same  time, 
but  that  this  fact  must  have  been  known  to  the 
disciples.  Besides,  they  must  have  been  fully  satis- 
fied that  not  one  or  a  dozen,  but  all  the  soldiers 
would  remain  sleeping  while  they  rolled  away  the 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  577 

great  stone,  removed  the  body,  etc.,  else  their  under- 
taking would  end  in  certain  death.  In  the  absence 
of  divine  interposition,  sense  and  reason  must  regard 
such  theorizing  as  involving  a  physical  absurdity. 
Better  suppose  that  these  disciples  were  shielded 
with  a  divine  armament  and  energized  by  Omnipo- 
tence. 

To  believe,  therefore,  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts 
of  Christ's  burial,  that  his  dead  body  was  taken  from 
that  tomjp  by  the  hands  of  his  timid  disciples,  is  to 
exhibit  a  degree  of  credulity  vastly  greater  than  is 
necessary  to  accept  the  simple  story  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. 

Secondly,  was  the  dead  body  of  Jesus  resuscitated 
and  brought  from  the  sepulcher  by  the  power  of 
the  Highest?  As  both  Christian  and  infidel  are 
agreed  that  Jesus  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  and 
that  his  body  left  the  tomb;  and  as  it  seems  to  be 
morally  and  physically  absurd  to  suppose  that  his 
dead  body  was  removed  by  human  instrumentality, 
the  only  remaining  conclusion  that  has  even  the  show 
of  reason  is,  that  Christ  left  the  sepulcher  by  divine 
interposition.  But  the  Father  has  not  left  a  subject 
of  such  infinite  moment  to  his  children  to  rest  upon 
mere  inference.  That  we  might  believe,  nothing 
doubting,  all  that  is  circumstantial  and  positive  has 
been  providentially  left  as  a  legacy  for  human  intel- 
ligence and  honesty. 

(i)  Jcsiis  repeatedly  predicted  his  resurrection. 

This  is  a  truth  of  history  that  none  will  deny.  It 
37 


578  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

was  not  only  known  to  his  disciples,  but  to  his  ene- 
mies as  well.  But  for  the  public  prediction,  ''  After 
three  days  I  will  rise  again,"  the  priests  and  elders 
would  not  have  taken  the  precaution  of  guarding 
the  sepulcher.  If  we  reflect  upon  the  doctrine  which 
Jesus  taught,  the  life  which  he  lived,  and  the  relig- 
ion which  he  sought  to  establish,  this  public  predic- 
tion comes  with  the  force  of  an  argument  in  favor 
of  his  resurrection.  We  can  hardly  believe  that  a 
being  of  such  conceded  intelligence  and^  purity  of 
life  would  have  made  such  a  marvelous  prediction 
in  the  absence  of  a  supernatural  spirit.  Nothing 
but  the  fulfillment  of  this  prediction  will  complete 
the  chain  of  marvelous  events  which  characterized 
the  entire  history  of  his  miraculous  career. 

(2)  Subsequent  events  are  strongly  suggestive  of  the 
sublime  truth  of  Christ's  resurrection. 

Not  only  all  the  previous  history  of  Jesus,  con- 
nected with  his  prediction,  but  all  that  has  since 
occurred,  goes  to  establish  the  truth  of  that  predic- 
tion. The  world  has  been  revolutionized  on  the 
supposition  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy, 
"  After  three  days  I  will  rise  again."  Had  this  last 
prediction  failed,  we  can  readily  see  that  all  had 
gone  down  in  hopeless  despair.  The  world's  great 
Redeemer  might  have  gone  far  beyond  and  above 
the  world's  wisdom  in  teaching  the  sublime  truths 
touching  God,  human  duty,  and  destiny,  as  he  did; 
he  might  have  lived  a  life  of  spotless  purity,  and 
manifested  naught  but  the  spirit  of  the  great  Father, 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  579 

as  he  did  ;  he  might  have  been  cruelly  scourged  and 
disgracefully  hanged  on  the  cross  to  become  the 
shameful  spectacle  of  a  gainsaying  and  profligate 
world,  as  he  was ;  he  might  have  at  last,  as  by 
divine  effort,  sent  up  the  shout  of  victory,  "  It  is 
finished  !  "  and,  to  attest  the  absolute  divinity  of 
such  utterance,  the  sun  may  have  blushed  into  dark- 
ness and  the  very  earth  trembled,  as  they  did  ;  his 
body  might  have  been  taken  by  the  hands  of  his 
friends,  and  tenderly  and  lovingly  buried  in  the 
sepulcher,  at  the  door  of  which  the  great  stone  was 
laid  sealed  with  the  Roman  seal,  and  around  which 
a  detail  of  armed  soldiers  may  have  been  placed,  as 
it  was — all  this  may  have  taken  place  in  exact  keep- 
ing with  the  sacred  history,  yet  if  the  last  act  in  the 
divine  programme  had  failed,  all  would  have  come 
to  naught. 

Not  only  all  this  must  be  conceded,  but  reflection 
goes  on  :  Had  Christ  not  been  raised  from  the 
dead,  then  there  would  have  been  no  civilized 
Europe  nor  any  "  England,  mother  of  us  all,"  whose 
chief  glory  is  her  Bibles  ;  had  there  been  no  resur- 
rection, then  there  had  been  no  Christian  America, 
with  its  schools,  colleges,  and  churches,  stretching 
from  ocean  to  ocean.  In  short,  if  Jesus  had  re- 
mained in  the  tomb,  then  there  would  have  been  no 
Christian  civilization,  but  the  world  would  have  been 
sitting  to-day,  as  it  had  been  sitting  for  thousands 
of  years,  in  the  darkness  of  pagan  superstition. 

Can  we  suppose,  by  the  largest  stretch  of  imagi- 


580  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

nation,  that  Peter  would  have  stood  up  in  the  great 
city  of  Jerusalem  and  preached  his  first  gospel  ser- 
mon had  he  not  fully  believed  that  Jesus  had  been 
raised  from  the  dead  ?  Does  it  come  within  the  line 
of  possibilities  that  the  first  Jerusalem  church  would 
have  been  established  but  for  the  prevalence  of  such 
faith  ?  In  the  light  of  reason,  can  we  conclude  that 
the  religious  world  would  have  been  revolutionized 
but  for  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  resurrection? 

Certainly,  both  Christian  and  infidel  are  agreed  in 
the  fact  that  the  Gospel  began  to  be  preached  under 
the  inspiration  of  this  faith,  and  that  the  vast  tem- 
ple of  Christian  civilization  rests  upon  this  founda- 
tion. 

To  suppose,  therefore,  that  Christ  was  not  raised 
from  the  dead,  is  to  conclude  that  the  propagation 
of  a  falsehood  has  done  more  to  establish  truth  and 
righteousness  than  all  else  put  together  :  and  not 
only  this,  but  we  must  further  conclude  that  all 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  call  good  and  great 
has  been  constructed  upon  the  basis  of  a  lie. 

While  these  antecedent  and  subsequent  events 
combine  to  present  an  array  of  circumstantial  evi- 
dence sufficient  to  establish  the  truth  of  Christ's 
resurrection,  as  if  to  make  certainty  doubly  certain 
we  are  providentially  furnished  with  positive  testi- 
mony which  is  simply  overwhelming. 

(3)    The  testimony  of  the  disciples. 

These  witnesses  are  to  testify,  not  to  events  which 
took  place  while  they  slept,  but  to  2.  fact  which  they 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION.  58 1 

witnessed,  and  one  about  which  they  could  not  be 
mistaken.  Had  they  removed  the  dead  body  of 
Jesus  from  the  tomb,  certainly  it  must  have  been  an 
event  which  they  knew.  Can  it  be  conceived  as 
humanly  possible  that  these  disciples  could  have 
stolen  that  body  in  defiance  of  law,  and  then,  in- 
stead of  making  away  with  it  and  secreting  them- 
selves from  being  caught  and  punished,  have  gone 
into  the  city  and  publicly  proclaimed  that  God  had 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  when  they  were  promised 
nothing  and  received  nothing  but  disgrace,  perse- 
cution, suffering,  and  at  last  cruel  death?  This  is 
so  out  of  keeping  with  the  law  of  human  action, 
that  the  man  who  can  believe  it  exhibits  a  credulity 
sufificient  to  take  in  all  the  hobgoblin  stories  of  the 
Scandinavian  mythology. 

Nor  does  wonderment  stop  here.  Why,  if  these 
disciples  were  publicly  proclaiming  a  falsehood,  did 
not  those  priests  and  elders  who  professed  to  be  in 
possession  of  the  evidence  have  them  arrested  for 
theft  and  falsehood,  and  not  permit  these  thieves  to 
turn  the  city  upside  down  with  a  doctrine  which 
was  not  only  false,  and  based  upon  a  crime,  as  they 
were  prepared  to  prove,  but  which  was  a  gross  per- 
version of  the  established  religion  which  had  been 
committed  to  their  charge,  and  upon  which  depended 
their  popularity  and  support?  Their  silence- under 
these  circumstances  proves,  conclusively,  that  they 
had  no  confidence  in  their  own  report. 

{a)  That  these  disciples,  on  the  other  hand,  were 


582  REASON  AND    REVELATION. 

sincerely  honest  is  clearly  evinced  in  all  they  said, 
did,  and  suffered.  If  we  would  realize  the  force  of 
this  testimony,  we  must  regard  the  fact  that  these 
disciples  did  not  go  back  to  their  own  country  in 
Galilee  to  tell  the  marvelous  story  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, but,  as  commanded  by  their  Master,  they  went 
directly  into  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  where  all  these 
wonderful  events  had  taken  place,  and  there  stood 
up  and  proclaimed  with  irrepressible  boldness  the 
sublimest  truth  that  ever  saluted  the  ears  of  mortal. 
We  learn  from  the  sacred  history,  that  when  the 
day  of  Pentecost  had  come,  Peter,  standing  up  with 
the  eleven  disciples,  struck  the  key-note  which  was 
but  the  prelude  to  the  music  of  the  world's  redemp- 
tion from  the  tomb  of  sin.  This  was  not  only  the 
first,  but  it  was  the  most  marvelous,  gospel  sermon 
ever  preached  by  the  mouth  of  mortal.  The  great 
preacher  had  but  two  propositions  to  submit,  namely : 
first,  that  the  Jews  had  by  wicked  hands  taken  Jesus 
and  crucified  him  ;  and,  secondly,  that  God  had 
raised  him  from  the  dead.  If  a  successful  denial 
was  a  possibility,  then  and  there  were  the  time  and 
place  for  such  d24iial.  The  great  orator  was  so 
deeply  interested  in  the  one  all-absorbing  thought 
of  Christ's  resurrection,  that  he  seemed  to  think 
nothing  and  care  nothing  for  what  these  jealous 
priests  and  elders  might  say  or  do,  but  so  deeply 
was  his  own  soul  convinced  of  the  sublime  truth, 
that  it  seems  to  have  sent  forth  burninc{  words  of 
eloquence  and   appeal,  until  the  multitudes  *^  were 


CHRIST'S    RESURRECTION.  583 

pricked  in  their  hearts,  and  said  unto  Peter  and  the 
rest  of  the  disciples,  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall 
we  do  ?" 

Thus  we  see  that  the  spirit  of  their  own  deep  con- 
viction was  carried  to  the  hearts  of  others,  until 
three  thousand  were  added  to  the  church  in  a  sin- 
gle day.  Nor  did  the  work  stop  here,  but,  as  di- 
vinely predicted,  it  went  out  from  Jerusalem,  and 
spread  through  Syria,  Assyria,  Eg\'[)t,  Bab\Ion,  ar.d 
through  all  the  provinces  of  Rome,  until  soon  the 
mightiest  empire  of  the  world  was  revolutionized 
by  the  simple  story  of  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. 

(d)  These  disciples  were  not  only  honest  in  their 
conviction  that  *'  God  had  raised  Jesus  from  the  dead," 
but  it  was  a  fact  about  which  they  could  not  be  mis- 
taken. They  had  been  intimately  associated  with 
Jesus  for  three  years,  hearing  his  wonderful  words, 
witnessing  his  marvelous  power,  and  charmed  with 
his  life  of  spotless  purity;  so  that  they  could  not  be 
mistaken  as  to  his  identity.  They  had  personally 
seen  him  immediately  after  his  resurrection,  and  had 
received  instructions  to  go  into  Galilee,  where  they 
should  meet  him,  as  he  had  previously  promised. 

This  meeting  in  Galilee  would  seem  to  be  impor- 
tant for  many  reasons: 

(i)  Thus  they  would  escape  the  animosity  of  the 
Jews,  and  the  dangerous  excitement  which  would 
necessarily  attend  the  meeting  if  held  at  Jerusalem. 

(2)  It  would  afford  an  opportunity  for  his  disci- 
ples and  friends  to  meet  without  even  the  fear  of  be- 


584  REASON  AND   REVELATION. 

ing  molested.  While  special  reference  is  here  only 
had  to  the  eleven  disciples,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that,  as  this  meeting  seems  to  be  called  with 
the  special  object  of  settling,  once  and  forever,  the 
question  of  his  resurrection,  not  only  the  eleven  and 
the  "  seventy,"  but  the  "  over  five  hundred "  wit- 
nesses of  whom  Paul  speaks  were  all  present  at  this 
meeting  of  divine  appointment. 

(3)  That  secluded  mountain  would  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity thoroughly  to  canvass  that  all-absorbing  ques- 
tion of  his  resurrection.  The  beautiful  simplicity 
and  ungarnished  truthfulness  of  the  sacred  author 
are  seen  in  the  frank  statement,  '*  And  when  they 
saw  him,  they  worshiped  him:  but  some  doubted;'* 
thus  incidentally  exhibiting  the  honest  sincerity  of 
the  inspired  historian,  and  showing  that  these  wit- 
nesses were  not  over-credulous  (compare  John  xx: 
24-28),  but  that  their  judgment  must  first  be  con- 
vinced before  they  could  believe. 

(4)  This  divine  appointment  should  be  made  in 
Galilee,  for  the  reason  that  there  Jesus  had  spent 
most  of  his  ministerial  life,  and  hence  there,  bet- 
ter than  anywhere  else,  his  intimate  acquaintances 
could  meet  and  identify  him,  and  thus  be  prepared 
to  go  forth  as  competent  witnesses  of  the  fact  that 
this  is  the  identical  person  with  whom  they  had 
been  intimately  acquainted.  It  is  therefore  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  "  above  five  hundred 
brethren"  (i  Cor.  xv  :  6)  who  saw  Jesus  at  the 
same  time  were  present  at  this  meeting.     So  many 


CHRIST'S   RESURRFXTION.  585 

intimate  acquaintances  could  hardly  have  been  called 
together  anywhere  else.  That  this  meeting  was 
largely  attended  is  further  indicated  in  the  state- 
ment, "And  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them." 
It  would  seem  that  the  "some"  who  "doubted" 
were  standing  on  the  outskirts  of  the  congregation, 
and  hence  could  not  distinctly  identify  him.  It  be- 
came necessary,  therefore,  for  Jesus  to  go  out  and 
"  speak  unto  them,"  that  all  doubts  might  thus  be 
removed. 

As  Jesus  had  previously  to  his  death  appointed 
this  meeting  in  Galilee,  for  reasons  which  we  can 
readily  understand,  among  which  is  the  fact  that 
there  a  larger  number  of  competent  witnesses  could 
be  called  together,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
he  had  divinely  planned  that  those  present  at  the 
meeting  should  constitute  the  band  of  missionaries 
whose  work  should  be  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings 
of  a  risen  Saviour. 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  commission,  "  Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,"  was  not  confined 
to  the  twelve,  the  seventy,  nor  yet,  possibly,  to  the 
"  above  five  hundred  brethren,"  but  to  all  who  were 
divinely  favored  with  the  privilege  of  attending  that 
remarkable  meeting.  Thus  it  was  that  the  heart- 
cheering  message  and  the  soul-vivifying  truth  of 
"Jesus  and  the  resurrection"  went  upon  the  wings 
of  the  morning,  soon  to  be  carried  to  all  parts  of 
the  then  known  world. 

Coming  back  to  the  "  eleven"  who  were  especially 


586  REASON   AND    REVELATION. 

chosen  and  divinely  appointed  to  be  witnesses  of  the 
resurrection,  we  are  to  remember  that  they  were  in- 
timate with  Jesus,  not  only  before  but  after  he  had 
been  raised.  It  was  their  exalted  privilege,  after 
God  had  raised  him  from  the  dead,  to  be  in  his  soci- 
ety, more  or  less,  for  forty  days.  For  three  years 
they  had  heard  him  speak  as  man  never  spoke  ;  they 
had  seen  him  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstop  the 
ears  of  the  deaf,  and  even  raise  the  dead.  They 
had  passed  through  the  awful  ordeal  of  witnessing 
the  disgraceful  trial,  the  cruel  suffering,  and  solemn 
and  fearful  death  of  their  Master. 

After  forty  days  of  joy  in  the  thought  of  his 
risen  presence,  they  had  seen  him  taken  up  into 
heaven.  They  therefore  had  no  more  doubt  of  the 
fact  that  God  had  raised  him  from  the  dead  than 
they  had  of  their  own  existence.  It  is  not  wonder- 
ful, therefore,  that  they  were  willing  to  stake  their 
reputation,  their  property,  their  ease,  and  even  their 
very  life  upon  the  reality  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
This  one  sublime  truth  had  opened  to  them  the 
windows  of  heaven  through  which  they  could  behold 
the  "  land  where  the  angels  dwell."  In  the  light  of  a 
blessed  immortality,  worldly  honor,  riches,  pleasure, 
and  even  life  were  not  worthy  to  be  put  into  the 
scale  against  ''  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him."  They  therefore  went  will^ 
ingly  and  joyfully  to  the  task  which  heaven  had  as- 
signed them,  at  the  cost  of  all  that  this  world  calls 
good  and  great. 


CHRIST'S  RESURRECTION.  587 

Let  us  summarize  :  Can  any  one  believe  that  these 
eleven  disciples  who  had  followed  Jesus  for  three 
years,  witnessing  all  the  joyful  and  sorrowful  scenes 
through  which  he  passed,  were,  after  all,  ignorant  of 
his  identity?  Certainly,  to  every  thoughtful  mind 
such  a  conclusion  must  be  totally  devoid  of  all 
reason. 

If  they  must  have  known  whereof  they  affirmed, 
then  can  any  one  believe  that  they  were  insincere  in 
publishing  to  the  world  that  their  Master  had  been 
actually  raised  from  the  dead?  Can  it  be  conceived 
as  even  possible  that  men  will  leave  all  and  cross 
continents  and  seas  to  publish  a  doctrine  which  they 
know  to  be  false,  with  the  promise  of  nothing  and 
the  hope  of  nothing  but  disgrace,  suffering,  and 
death  ?  Is  it  in  keeping  with  human  nature  to  sacri- 
fice all  the  pleasures  of  earth,  endure  hardships  and 
privations,  and  at  last  come  willingly  to  the  rack,  the 
fagot,  or  to  cruel  death  in  any  form  that  satanic 
wickedness  could  invent,  all  for  the  sake  of  publish- 
ing what  they  know  to  be  a  lie?  Such  a  conclusion 
is  out  of  keeping  with  sense  or  reason.  It  was  in 
the  face  of  all  this  danger,  and  in  accordance  with 
his  own  blessed  experience,  that  the  great  Apostle 
exclaimed,  *'  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead." 

Asa  sequel  to  all  this  circumstantial  and  positive 
proof  we  have  the  testimony  of  Christ  himself,  "  I 
am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead,  and  behold  I  am 
alive  for  evermore, 

*'AMEN." 


INDEX. 


Adam,  sin  of,  228;  temptation  of ,  com- 
mon to  mankind,  388  ;  condition  of, 
one  of  disadvantage,  389. 

Adams,  William,  D.D.,  on  Miracles, 
489. 

Addison's  hymn,  260. 

African  religions,  67. 

Agnosticism,  214-226  ;  afifirms  the 
First  Cause  to  be  unknowable,  214  ; 
equally  true  of  everything  in  the 
universe,  216  ;  as  confounding  cause 
and  effect  is  absurd,  218. 

Alexander  the  Great,  52. 

Anthropology.     Part  IV.     264-329, 

Atheism,  no-God-ism,  234  ■  rarely 
avowed,  235  ;  speculative,  the  same 
as  agnosticism,  235  ;  dogmatic,  as- 
sumes Law  as  First  Cause,  237 ; 
proves  God,  239;  hailed  nebular 
hypothesis  and  Darwinism  as  show- 
ing design  without  Designer,  240 ; 
all  the  theories  of,  lead  to  conclu 
sion  of  a  God,  243;  practical,  ignores 
God  and  degrades  man,  244  ;  credu 
lily  of,  255. 

Atonement,  the,  ol  Christ,  539-565  1 
diversity  of  opinion  concerning, 
540;  Points  of  aerreement:  no  con- 
troversies for  three  centuries,  542  . 
first  theories  absurd,  542 ,  all 
theories  difficult  and  doubtful,  545  , 
sin  alienates  from  God,  547  ;  neces- 
sity of  the,  547 ;  Points  of  dis- 
agreement: as  to  the  method  of,  549  ; 
as  to  the  object  of —to  reconcile  God 
to  man,  552 ;  to  reconcile  man  to 
God,  556. 


BiBi.E,  the,  a  hypocritical  record  or  a 
Divine  Revelation,  i  ;  to  be  tested 
by  reason  7-9;  Part  II.,  95-209; 
importance  of  investigation  of,  99  • 
difficulties  of,  analogous  to  those  of 
nature,  105  ;  original  manuscripts 
of,  110  • 

As  a  book  of  History,  1 17-133  , 
human  so  far  as  man  could  produce 
it  without  divine  help,  118  :  histori- 
cal statements  of,  really  unim- 
peached  and  true,  121  ;  divine 
elements  of,  appear  in  the  wonders 
of  Jewish  history,  122-124  ;  scientific 
mistakes  of,  not  statements  of  fact 
but  illustrations,  126-131;  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  creation  in.  tells  not  how, 
but  only  that,  God  did  it,  131  ; 
chronology  of,  not  inspired  because 
within  man's  own  capacity,  132  ; 
teachings  of,  harmonize  with  per- 
fected science,  134  . 

As  a  book  of  Biography,  134-154; 
shows  both  good  and  bad,  134-139, 
frank  representations  of,  help  man- 
kind, 142,  143  ;  Its  story  of  Solomon, 
144-156. 

As  a  book  of  Revealed  Law,  155- 
175;  offers  temporary  Jewish  laws 
and  permanent  universal  laws,  156- 
158;  gives  justice,  mercy,  and  hu- 
mility as  the  basis  of  all  moral  law, 
159-163;  the  Decalogue,  163:  its  ar> 
rangement,  173,  its  origin,  174. 

As  related  to  Reason,  176-207;  to  be 
judged  spiritually  by  the  spiritually- 
minded,  i»i;  not  to  be  interpreted 


590 


INDEX. 


Bible,— 
as  a  book  of  scientific  record,  183- 
188;  writers  of,  divinely  charged  to 
make  known   spiritual    truth,    190; 
criticism  of,   to  proceed    on    what 
Scriptures    claim    for    themselves, 
192  ;    verbal  criticism  of,  196;  must 
be  judged  by  reason,  198-201;  must 
be  interpreted  by  each  individual, 
•    202-206;  will  not  be  jeopardized  by 
liberty,  206;  when  free,  will  end  in- 
fidelity, 207. 
Bovven,  Francis,  on  organism,  design, 
and  Creator,   249,  250,  252;    on   m- 
stinct  and  reason,  293,  316. 
Boyle,  Robert,  his  conversion,  76. 
Brahmanisin,    commendable    for    its 
moral  science,  59;   for  its  worship 
of  the  Spirit-Universe,   60;    breaks 
down  by  lack  ot  personal  God,  60; 
as  Spiritualistic  Pantlieism,  227. 
Bruno,  author  of  modern  pantiieistic 
thought,   229;    unjustly  burned    as 
atheist,  234. 
Buddhism,  its  noble  system  of  ethics, 
63;  transmigration,   64;    asceticism, 
65;  lacks  personal  God,  65. 

Celsus,  78. 

Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  on  Chro- 
nology, 132;  on  Bruno,  230;  on 
Devil,  407;  on  Demoniacs,  412;  on 
Atonement,  544. 

Christ,  an  impostor  or  the  Messiah,  3; 
teaching  ol,  442-467;  supernatural 
power  of,  467-507;  atonement  of, 
5^9-565;  resurrection  of,  566-587. 

Christian  religion  meets  man's  high- 
est necessities  with  faith,  hope,  and 
Jove,  86-94;  rests  on  miracles  and 
adaptedness  to  human  wants.  70; 
has  best  revealed  to  man  the  laws 
ol  his  moral  nature.  72-77;  divinity 
of,  proved  oy  observation  and  ex- 
periment. 83-85;  prescribes  both 
negative  and  positive  law.  85. 

Christology.     Part  VI.     434-587. 

Clarke,  James  Kreemnn,  on  the  uni- 
versality ol  human  Religiosity,  21. 


Confucius,  teaches  reverence  and  ap- 
preciates man,  but  has  no  faith  in 
God,  65,  66. 

Conscience,  native  to  the  human 
soul,  19;  the  soul's  executive,  325; 
not  legislative,  judicial,  nor  witness- 
bearing,  327. 

Copernicus,  463. 

Corinth,  and  Venus,  55-. 

Cosmos,  231. 

Creeds  not  Christianity,  528. 

Darwin,    theories    and     accomplish- 
ments of,  270-290. 
David,  sin  and  repentance  of,  140. 
Demoniacal    possession,    416;     result 
then,  as  now,  of  physical  ailments, 
417;  assumed  by  Jesus  and  apostles 
for  purposes  of  popular  comprehen- 
sion, 421. 
Demonology.     Part  V.     330-433. 
The,   of    Old   Testament:  no  per- 
sonal devil    in  Mosaic  theology, 
398;  nor  in  pre-exilian  Jewish  writ- 
ers, 400;    but  came  by  contagion 
from  Zoroaster's  religion,  404. 
The,  of  New  Testament:  assumed 
by   Christ    and    the   apostles,   in 
keeping  with  popular  language  of 
their  times,  for  popular  compre- 
hension of  their  more  important 
mission,  412;  demoniacal  posses- 
sion, 416-422;  temptation  of  Jesus, 
423-429;  literal  and  figurative  lan- 
guage, 430;  conclusion,  431. 
Depravity,  total,    of   man,  disproved 
by  the  soul's  thriving  in  pursuit  ol 
virtue  and  piety,  74. 
Development   of   man  the   object   of 
creation  of  physical  world,  303-307. 
Devil,   the,  a  frightful   specter,  or  a 
horrid  monster,  or  a  power  under 
God's  control,  2;  universality  of  be- 
lief  in,  333;    something   more   than 
human    imagination.   336;    is  the,  a 
personal    monster?    3J7-368;      if    a 
personal  monster,  why  permitted  to 
live?  342;  how  was  his  fall  possible? 
343;  why  permitted   to   remain   in 


INDEX. 


591 


Devil,— 

heaven  ?  346;  why  precipitated  up- 
on earth  ?  350  ;  wretched  condition 
of,  351;  why  permitted  to  exist? 
354;  supposed  power  of,  over  the 
elements,  358;  absurdity  of  the  sup- 
position, 362;  IS  the,  the  author  of 
natural  science  ?  366;  as  a  personal 
monster,  disappears  before  reason, 
368;  is  he  a  principle  of  evil  incor- 
porate in  human  nature?  369-433; 
omnipresent  for  a  benevolent  rea- 
son, 387;  God's  instrumeniality  for 
developing  man's  religious  faculty, 
391;  Scriptural  teachings  concern- 
ing, 397-430;  conclusion,  431. 
Dogmatism,  condemned,  5:  in  the- 
ology, a  hinderance  to  the  Gospel, 
loS;  produces  infidelity,  206. 

ECCLESIASTES,   Book  of,  I42. 

Egypt,  68. 

Ephesus,  and  Diana,  55. 

Evil  and  good,  must  be  placed  before 
man,  374;  environments  requisite  for 
highest  development  of  man's  moral 
and  spiritual  nature,  370. 

Evolution  theory,  at  first  hailed  by 
Atheism,  240;  treats  of  processes 
not  causes  of  creation,  241;  involves 
no  denial  of  God,  242;  consideration 
of  the  theory  of,  270-284;  even  if,  ac- 
counts for  man's  physical  organism, 
fails  to  show  origin  of  mind,  286; 
proves  too  much,  388-390. 

Faith,  confidence  founded  upon  evi- 
dence, 86-88;  requires  comprehensi- 
ble evidence,  176;  rooted  in  both 
objective  and  subjective  testimony, 
177-179. 

Fathers  of  the  Church.  115. 

Fetichisin,  67;  the  nearest  approach 
to  atheism,  200. 

'*  Footprints  of  Satan,"  3-59  K. 

For;:ivenes«i,  does  not  remove  conse- 
qutnces  of  violated  law,  32,  nature 
and  extent  o',  35-38,  oecesbuy  of,  30, 
results  of,  39. 


France  abolishing  religion  under  the 

Revolution,  45-48. 
Free  will,  characteristic  of  man,  309; 

belongs  to  noothercieature,  310;  of 

man  necessary  to  divine  approval 

or  disapproval,  371. 

God,  the  idea  of,  a  nightmare  or  a 
profound  truth,  2;  the,  worshiped 
indicates  character  of  worshipers 
(Corinth,  Ephesus,  India,  Christen- 
dom), 55-57. 

Good  and  evil  must  be  placed  before 
man,  376. 

Government,  a,  as  a  basis  of  organiza- 
tion for  the  soul,  318-329. 

Greece,  religious  system  helpful  by 
recognition  of  human  nobility,  weak 
without  holy  God,  61,  62. 

Growth  conditioned  on  strife  with 
adverse  environment — of  bcdy,  376; 
of  mind,  378;  of  moral  power,  386. 

Hate  and  love  native  to  the  human 

soul,  20. 
Hathaway,  Warren,  on  Agnosticism, 

215- 

Hegel  and  Hegelianism.  103,  219,  220, 
230. 

Hope,  expectation,  and  desire,  88-90. 

Home,  Thos.  Harlwell,  '"  introduc- 
tion to  the  Critical  Study  and 
Knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures,"  on    Irreligion    in     France, 

45-49- 

Human,  race  the  highest  of  animals, 
288;  mind  progressive,  291;  intel- 
lectuality demands  eternity  (or  de- 
velopment, 302;  v\ili  must  be  free 
to  choose  good  and  evil.  371. 

Hume,  David,  on  Miracles,  78,  103, 
478,  483,  489,  491.494- 

iMMiTABM.iTV  of  God,  with  rcfcrcnce 

to  miracli  s.  478-481. 
India,  devil-worship.  Thugs,  56;  Brah- 

manism.  59-61. 
Infidelity  but  negative  and  ccntradic 

tive,    77;  as  an  apolocy  for  a   bad 


592 


INDEX. 


Infidelity, — 
life,  79;  usual  insincerity,  80;  igno- 
rant of  what  it  discusses,  81. 

Instinct,  and  reason,  as  arguments  for 
a  Creator,  251-253;  and  reason  com- 
pared, 292-300. 

Intellect,    cultivation    of,    does    not 
develop  highest   manhood   (Rome, 
Greece),  52;    of  man  unlimited  in 
•     capacity  for  growth,  303. 

Intellectuality,  native  to  the  human 
soul,  19;  of  man  considered,  300-307. 

Intelligence,  of  man  progressive,  290; 
of  other  animals  stationary,  291;  of 
man  differs  from,  of  other  animals  in 
kind  as  well  as  degree,  292-300. 

Jesus,  assumed  the  demonology  of  his 
times  10  reach  popular  understand- 
ing, 412,  421;  claims  of,  434;  as  an 
impostor,  437;  as  a  fanatic,  438;  as 
the  Christ  of  prophecy,  440;  teach- 
ings of:  what  ?  442;  why  ?  446;  how  ? 
450;  simplicity  of,  453;  heroism  of, 
455;  independence  of,  460;  sympathy 
of,  466;  miracles  of,  467-506;  charac- 
ter of,  507-538. 

Jews,  the,  wonders  of  the  history  of, 
122-125;  chosen  as  repository  of 
truth  of  Monotheism,  126;  trained 
as  a  nation  to  establish  that  truth, 
127,  128. 

John's  Gospel,  proem  of,  paraphrased 
and  expounded,  95-98. 

Joshua,  God's  instrument,  189. 

Kant,  Emmanuel,  "  History  and 
Meaning  of  the  Heavens,"  213. 

Kitto,  John,  D.D.,  on  Demoniacs,  429. 

Knowledge  of  God  a  question  of  more 
or  less,  215;  increasingly  possible, 
but  never  to  be  completed,  217. 

Lafayette,  in  prison,  257. 

La  Place  and  Nebular  hypothesis,  239. 

Law,  rules  the  faculties  of  the  soul, 
30 ;  as  First  Cause,  237 ;  only  a 
method  in  which  some  force  regu- 
larly acts,  238. 


Laws,  of  the  soul  not  all  equally  im- 
portant, 31;  of  God  immutable  in 
administration  and  consequences, 
31;  violation  of,  not  annihilated  by 
forgiveness,  32;  penalties  lor  viola- 
tion of,  will  be  enforced,  39-43;  of 
lower  grade  to  be  violated  if  neces- 
sary for  obedience  to  the  higher,  43; 
of  Old  Testament,  155-175. 

Love,  man's  greatestlhecessity,  90-93; 
and  hate  native  to  human  soul,  20. 

Luther's  protest,  loi. 

Man,  an  insoluble  enigma,  or  the  crea- 
ture of  a  wise  Creator,  2;  origin  of, 
270-287;  distinctive  character  of, 
288-317;  native  morality  of,  307; 
free  will  of,  309;  relation  of,  to  moral 
laws  distinguishes  from  brute  crea- 
tion, 313;  religiosity  of,  314. 
Manhood,  highest  type  of,  developed 
not  by  intellect,  52;  nor  wealth,  53; 
nor  human  effort,  54;  but  by  exer- 
cise of  religious  nature,  54;  per- 
fect, results  only  from  worship  of  a 
pure  and  holy  being,  58. 
Materialists  deny  existence  of  mind, 

230. 
Memory,  the  witness- bearer   of    the 

soul,  324. 
Miracles,  definition  of,  468;  antece- 
dent probability  of,  469;  objections 
to,  477;  of  Jesus,  the  foundation  of 
Christianity,  467;  object  of,  to  attest 
Christ's  divine  mission,  484;  pecu- 
liarities of:  Christianity  founded 
through  the  instrumentality  of,  488; 
benevolence  of,  490;  recorded  by 
eye-witnesses,  490;  done  publicly, 
492;  capable  of  testing,  492;  never 
failed,  494;  evidences  of:  His  own 
testimony,  495;  testimony  of  the 
apostles,  496;  testimony  of  those 
who  heard  the  apostles,  503. 
Monotheism,  as  a  truth,   reposed  in 

charge  of  the  Jews,  126. 
Morality  native  to  the  human  soul,  iq; 

imposed  on  man  for  his  good,  310. 
Moses,  122, 123, 130;  might  be  ignorant 


INDEX. 


593 


Moses, — 
of  scientific  truth  and  yet  be  God's 
messenger  for  spiritual  truth,  189. 

Mutability  of  organism  and  immuta- 
bility of  total  materials  the  law  of 
physical  universe,  213. 

Mysticism,  220;  a  religious  opiate, 
221;  confounds  mind  and  body,  God 
and  the  universe,  222, 

Nature,  another  name  for  God,  233; 
arguments  of,  for  God's  existence, 
258-263. 

Nebular  hypothesis,  239. 

New  Testament,  original  MSS.  long 
perished,  iii;  copies  preserved  from 
1700  sources,  112  ;  yet  all  substan- 
tially agree,  113;  could  be  recon- 
structed from  quotations  by  early 
believers  and  critics,  115 ;  coin- 
cidences humanly  impossible,  116. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  81. 

Origin  of  man,  Mosaic  account  of, 
clear  and  comprehensible,  scientific 
accounts  complex  and  irreconcil- 
able, 270;  Darwinian  theory  of,  con- 
sidered, 270-286;  Mosaic  account  of, 
consistent  with  natural  history,  187. 

Paganism  furnishes  no  holiness  of 
character  in  its  divinities,  58;  pro- 
vides no  God,  68. 

Paine's  criticisms  of  the  Bible  relate 
rather  to  theories  of  interpretation 
than  to  the  book  itself,  207. 

Paley,  William,  D.D.,  argument  of, 
for  infinite  Contriver,  247-250;  on 
miracles,  489,  491. 

Palfrey,  John  Gorham,  D.D.,  on  God's 
immutability,  478. 

Pantheism,  226-233  ;  Spiritualistic,  the 
universe  absorbed  in  God  (Brah- 
manism), 227;  resulted  in  Polytheism, 
228  ;  Materialistic,  God  absorbed  in 
the  universe  (Buddhism).  228  ;  Ger- 
man, God  is  the  universe  and  the 
universe  is  God.  230;  result  of,  stag- 
nation of  man's  higher  nature,  283. 

38 


Paul  divinely  commissioned  to  leach 
spiritual  things,  191. 

Penalty  of  violated  law  will  be  en- 
forced, 39-43. 

Personification  of  qualities  by  Biblical 
writers,  429. 

Polytheism  and  Paganism  left  men 
without  God,  68. 

Protestantism,  great  power  of,  in  as- 
sertion of  individual  right  of  judg- 
ment, 102. 

Providences  of  God  explained  by 
study  of  his  laws,  41. 

Punishments  and  rewards  unjust  with- 
out freedom  of  choice,  373. 

Read,  Rev.  Hollis,  his  "  Footprints 
of  Satan,"  339  fif. 

Reason,  its  Maker  the  Author  of  Rev- 
elation, 99;  demands  both  external 
and  internal  evidence,  177;  com- 
pared with  instinct,  292-300. 

Religion,  a  fantastic  sacrifice  or  a 
noble  service,  1  ;  Part  I.,  17-94;  per- 
version of,  does  not  disprove  its  in- 
nate condition  in  man,  22;  argument 
of  its  origin  from  environment  con- 
sidered, 23-26;  argument  of  its  origin 
by  imitation  and  education  con- 
sidered, 26;  meaning  of  the  word, 
27;  the  highest  law  of  the  soul.  44; 
the  worst  form  of,  better  than  none, 
44-49 ;  natural,  the  prophecy  and 
foundation  of  revealed,  50;  practi- 
cal, tends  to  transform  moral  char- 
acter, 51  ;  all,  classified  as  Monothe- 
ism and  Polytheism,  66  ;  the  neces- 
sity of  revealed,  69. 

Religiosity,  a  natural  part  of  human 
soul,  17;  universality  of,  21;  a 
distinction  between  man  and  all 
other  animals,  314. 

Repentance  in  next  world  not  taught 
in  the  Bible,  33. 

Resurrection  of  Christ,  the,  566-587  ; 
fundamental  in  Christian  religion, 
568  ;  facts  agreed  upon  :  Jesus  was 
dead,  buried,  and  removed  from  the 
tomb,  569  ;  points  in  dispute  :  was 


594 


INDEX. 


Resurrection, — 
the  body  removed  by  human  instru- 
memality  or  by  divine  power,  573- 
577  ;  evidences  of:  circumstantial — 
the  predictions  of  Jesus,  577;  subse- 
quent events,  578  ;  posiiive— the 
testimony  of  the  disciples,  580;  the 
declaration  of  Christ,  587. 

4levelation  means  making'  plain  the 
suggestions  of  nature,  99;  Author  of, 
the  Maker  of  Reason,  99  ;  in  Nature 
as  hard  to  understand  as  in  Bible, 
105  ;  made  to  individuals  and  not  to 
the  Church,  205. 

Rewards  and  punishments  unjust 
without  freedom  of  choice,  373. 

Rome,  52,  68. 

Satan,  universality  of  belief  in,  330; 
danger  of  belief  in,  331  ;  difficuliy 
of  understanding,  331  ;  ''  Footprints 
of»"  339  ff-i  God's  instrumentality 
for  developing  man's  religious  facul- 
ty, 391;  meaning  of,  399;  doctrine  of, 
not  Hebraic  but  Zoroastrian,  404. 

Schopenhauer,  on  Instinct  and  Na- 
ture, 251. 

Science,  true,  the  touchstone  of  true 
and  false  in  religion,  178;  differs 
from  spiritual  truth,  180;  natural, 
defined,  365;  is  the  Devil  the  author 
of,  366. 

Sin  wrong's  the  soul,  311. 

Socrates,  62,  461. 

Solomon,  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  of,  142; 
Proverbs  of,  144;  wisdom,  greatness, 
and  experimental  testing  of  knowl- 
edge, libertinism,  drink,  mirth, 
wealth,  agriculture,  fame,  and  com- 
merce of,  143-157. 

Soul,  independent  of  body,  222-225; 
organized  on  governmental  basis, 
318;  legislative  department  of,  319; 
judiciary  of,  321;  witness-bearing 
element  of,  324;  executive  of,  328; 
a  divine  commonwealth,  329. 

Spinoza,  not  an  atheist,  234 

Spiritualists  deny  existence  of  matter, 
230. 


Stowe,  Calvin  E.,  "History  of  the 
Books  of  the  Bible,"  113,  114,  18a; 
on  Hegel,  219. 

Strauss, johann,  on  Origin  of  Religion, 
23-26;  on  Cosmos,  231;  his  argument 
that  God  must  have  had  a  cause, 
247-51;  on  Nature  as  Creator,  251. 

Strife  necessary  to  growth — of  body, 
376;  of  mind,  378;  of  morality,  386. 

Temptation  of  Jesus,  as  an  argument 
for  a  personal  devil  considered  and 
refuted,  423-429. 

Testimony,  objective  and  subjective, 
faith  and  knowledge,  82. 

Theism,  doctrine  of  one  personal  God, 
245;  assumes  from  design  a  de- 
signer, from  efifect  a  cause,  246; 
Paley's  teleological  argument  for, 
247;  the  cosmological  argument  for, 
247;  the  argument  that,  requires  a 
cause  for  Gcd,  248;  the  common 
sentiment  of  mankind,  253,  254:  ar- 
guments for,  from  nature,  255-263. 

Theology  classified,  9,  10;  Part  HI., 
208-263;  the  thought  of  God,  as 
foundation  of  religion  and  center  of 
science,  208;  practical  importance 
of,  209-211;  first  questions  of,  as  to 
cause  of  natural  phenomena,  211. 

Thomson,  Dr.  Edward,  on  Nature  as 
cause  of  creation,  231-233;  on  De- 
generation versus  Evolution,  281. 

Thugs.  56. 

Truth  best  served  by  honest  investi- 
gation, 100. 

Voltaire  chiefly  a  denier,  78;  his  in- 
fidelity broke  the  chains  of  priest- 
craft in  France,  103. 

Wealth   does    not   develop  highest 

manhood,  53. 
Worshipers  transformed  into  likeness 

of  divinity  worshiped,  57. 

Xerxes,  52. 

Zoroaster,  originator  of  the  doctrine 
of  a  personal  devil  introduced  into 
post-exilian  Jewish  writings,  404. 


l^BLIGIOUS  '(Oor^I^S. 

HEAVENLY  RECOGNITION.  By  Rev.  T.  M.  McWhinney, 
D.D.  The  natural  argument  for  personal  immortality  and  identity 
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in  literary  form.     Certainly  a  rare  and  choice  volume." 

EVOLUTION  AND  RELIGION.  By  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
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COMFORTING  THOUGHTS  for  those  in  Bereavement,  Illness, 
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With  Notes,  original  and  selected  ;  Chronological  Index  ;  Index  of 
Persons,  Places,  and  Topics,  with  over  3000  references ;  Index  of 
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Published  by  FORDS,   HOWARD,   &   HULBERT, 
27  Park  Place,  N.  Y. 


THE  TWO  REVISED  VERSIONS. 


'' In  aitetnpHng  to  discuss  it.''''  says  The  Critic,  '"'' the  fact  hecojnes  apparent 
that  we  have  not  07ie  Revised  Version,  but  two^  and  those  widely  dij^erent  in 
character,  and  based  o?t  different  principles.  .  .  .  In  other  words,  there  are  an 
English  Version  a?td an  American  Version.,  and  the  differences  between  them 
are  radical  and  extreme.'''' 

The  American  Version 

Gives  in  each  case  the  Readings  and  Renderings  preferred  by  the  Amer- 
ican Revisers  incorporated  into  the  text,  instead  of  being-  releo-ated  to  the 
Appendix  (as  in  the  English  Version  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the 
American  reprints  of  them);  while  the  E?iglish  preferences  or  adoptions  are 
given  in  the  Appendix,  each  difference  being  separately  ?toled,  instead  of  all 
being  condensed  into  "  Classes  of  Passages." 


The  New  Testament. 

Edited  by  Rev.  Rosvvell  D.  Hitch- 
cock, D.D.,  President  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  New  York  City. 

"  Our  supreme  duty  is  to  ascertain, 
if  possible,  and  then  to  express,  if  pos- 
sible, exactly  its  meaning,  in  every 
chapter^  and  paragraph,  in  every  sen- 
tence, in  every  idiom,  and  in  every 
word.  .  .  .  The  most  faithful  render- 
ings will  finally  be  pronounced  the 
best." — From  Dr.  Hitchcock's  Pref- 
ace. 

"  As  to  the  points  of  difference  be- 
tween the  two  Companies  of  Revisers, 
the  renderings  preferred  by  the  Ameri- 
can Revisers  will,  in  most  cases,  be 
considered  the  more  exact  and  self-con- 
sistent."''— Chancellor  Howard  Cros- 
by. D.D. 

"It  represents  the  best,  the  oldest, 
and  the  purest.  Greek  text  of  the  New 
Testament  at  present  attainable,  by 
consent  of  the  most  competent  Chris- 
tian scholars.  •  .  .  F  rthermore,  this 
American  Version  is  the  most  accurate 
Enghsh  rendering  in  existence  of  that 
Greek  text.'"— iV.  Y.  Ch.  Intelligencer. 

*'  Dr.  H.  has  performed  the  necessary 
labor  with  the  conscientiousness,  abil- 
ity, skill,  and  tasie  which  would  be 
expected  from  a  man  of  his  gifts  and 
attainments  ""—Neiv  Vorh  Obseri'er. 

''  Probably  as  nearly  perfect  as  any 
thing  we  shall  get  in  many  long:  years 
to  come" — New  York  Evangelist. 

*'  Great  pains  have  evidently  been 
taken  to  make  it  accurate.  .  .  .  The 
typographical  execution  is  admirable."" 
— Dr  Ezra  Abbot,  of  the  Am.  Com- 
mittee of  Revision. 

Crown,  8vo.,  I,ong  Primer, 
Cloth,  red  edges,  80  cents. 


The  Book  of  Psalms. 

Edited  by  Rev.  J.  G.  Lansing.  D.D., 
Prof.  Old  Testament  Languages  and 
Exegesis, Theological  Seminary ,  New- 
Brunswick,  N.  J. 

"  The  American  Revisers  have  shown 
themselves  to  be  in  advance  of  the 
scholarship  of  the  times,  rather  than 
behind  it.  as  will  be  seen  when  the 
other  Shemitic  languages  come  to  be 
more  thoroughly  studied  and  under- 
stood, and  more  faithfully  applied. 
It  remains  for  us  to  express  our  pro- 
found satisfaction  that  we  now  have  in 
our  possession  the  precious  Book  of 
Psalms  with  these  many  important 
changes  demanded  by  faithfulness  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures.'''' — From  Dr.  Lan- 
sing's J:  reface. 

"Prof  Lansing  has  rendered  a  valu- 
able service  in  thus  placing  before  the 
American  public  in  an  intelligible  form 
the  work  of  their  scholarly  countrymen 
in  the  Revision  of  that  part  of  the 
Old  Testament  which  lies  nearest  to 
the  popular  heart  in  worship  and  de 
votion."  —  N.  Y.  Christian  hitelli^ 
gen.  er. 

"  A   rich  Sunday  comfort.'" — Hart 

ford  Evening  Post. 

"  Bible  students  will  welconte  this 
edition."'' — Zion's  Advocate. 

"  The  old-fashioned  combination  o{ 
Testament  and  Psalms,  so  dear  to 
many  a  household  for  devotional  pur- 
poses will  be  obtainable  in  large,  agree- 
able type  and  at  a  low  price." — Chris- 
tian Standard,  (Cincinnati,  O.) 

CroTvn,  8vo.,  [Long  Primer, 
flexible  Cloth,  25  cents. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  and  PSALMS,  1  Vol.,  cloth,  red  edges,  $1. 

Published  by  FORDS,  HOWARD,  &  HULBERT, 
27  Park  Place,  N.  Y. 


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